20 Perfect Dates
by Saku-Chan.x
Summary: THE REWRITE OF THIS FIC IS NOW UP!
1. The Idea

**Standard Disclaimer Applied. **

**Old Summary:**Twenty three and still single, Sakura's never had a stable relationship, and decides to completely give up on love. But when her friend, Ino sets her up on dates, how is she supposed to handle love sick males all wanting her? So much for giving up on love. Sakura centric

**New Summary**: Sakura can be considered very intelligent, especially when it comes to her job. However, when romance gets involved she's utterly clueless. And Ino, being the helpful friend that she is, decides to give her friend a push in the right direction. MultiSaku

**A/N:**Yes, I know what you're thinking. Why is she making yet another story? Well, if you are thinking that then my answer is that I have writer's block on most of my stories –one of them would be 'The Pain of a Cherry Blossom' And basically I felt like writing a new story. Hope you guys like it ^^

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**20 **_**Perfect**_** Dates**

**Chapter 1 **

**The Idea**

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"Hmm, I wonder how the date went." The blond mused, subconsciously flickering through channels. The dim glow of the television casted its artificial light around the living room, creating different shadows everything channel switch.

She received her answer the moment the front door abruptly opened and closed with a loud slam, and vaguely heard incoherent mutters from the pinkette.

"Sakura! Did you have a nice time on your date?" She called out, her gaze momentarily locked on the unusually silent girl, who instead of answering –which was _quite_ rude in Ino's opinion, shuffled towards the kitchen. No doubt she was heading straight for the half empty ice cream container, courtesy of herself as she experienced countless disastrous dates in the past.

The blond sighed in disappointment, due to the fact that this was _yet_ another failed date for the pinkette. She reluctantly stood up from her position off the comfortable couch, and wandered through the living room and into the darkened hallway towards the closed kitchen door.

She detected a small amount of light seeping through the bottom of the door and heard muffled sobs coming from the other side of the door. Her azure narrowed into fury filled blue orbs.

Whoever this guy was, he was _definitely _going to pay for upsetting Sakura. She pushed the door open forcibly; her anger consumed thoughts were quickly washed away once she noticed her friend drowning her sorrows in mouthfuls of cookie dough ice cream.

"Sakura-chan, are you upset over some stupid guy? Because I can personally deal with him—" The blonde began, her tone quickly getting enthusiastic as different plots floated around in her head.

"Thanks Ino-chan, but I'm just tired." Sakura said unconvincingly, she sniffed quietly as she lifted her free hand to wipe away her swollen eye while her other hand took a generous portion of more ice cream.

Ino rolled her eyes in disbelief, as she stepped over to Sakura to ruffle her hair, earning an annoyed whine from the irritated pinkette. "Then why don't you mind sharing with me _why _you're eating the I'm-obviously-sad-about something-important ice cream?" Sakura dropped her eyes down to her lap, her spoon left forgotten in the melting pile of cookie dough ice cream.

"Seriously Ino-chan, it's nothing—" She tried to calm her evidently overprotective friend, the blonde should have been used to the fact that Sakura was just (_extremely_) sensitive over stupid matters, though obviously Ino wasn't going to let this drop. The blonde in question slammed her hand onto the table; the pinkette feigned a blank look, though she inwardly winced in her mind.

"Nothing my _ass_, Sakura-chan! You _never _come home like this! Especially when _I'm _the one who eats the I'm-obviously-sad-about-something-important ice cream." Ino stated sternly, surprising Sakura by being quite serious. There wasn't any trace of her usual carefree tone detected as Sakura lifted her head back upwards, emerald eyes clashing with azure.

After a few moments passed, Sakura averted her eyes away from the intense stare. She was starting to feel really uncomfortable from the different side that Ino rarely showed, though it did prove that she did like to show she cared about Sakura.

"Ino, have you ever wondered if guys ever actually like you for your looks or just for being yourself?" Sakura inquired quietly, fidgeting with the hem of her black dress with a sudden new-found interest.

The blonde blinked owlishly, startled by the unexpected question. Her expression softened as she slid into the seat opposite the pinkette, and reached out for her friend's hand.

"Of course I do," She nodded; she placed her forefinger on her chin thoughtfully. "Butif he happens to be a cutie _and _rich, then it doesn't matter to me." She joked, a small giggle escaping her lips. Sakura merely shook her head in disbelief at her friend, before joining in the laughter.

"I guess you'll never change, Ino." Sakura managed to choke out, as she was still in the midst of her fit of giggles.

"You're so mean!" She retorted, a pout curling on her face, then she attacked the oblivious pinkette. "But I know you still love me though, right Sakura-chan?" Ino cooed, as she tickled her friend mercilessly.

"Yeah, of course I do Ino-_pig_." Sakura teased, a grin plastered across her face. She pried the blonde's hands away from her as a long, draining yawn escaped her mouth.

She left one eye closed as she glanced upwards to check the time. It was only 11 o'clock; it was getting late, and she had to get up extra early in the morning for work. The thought nearly made her sigh.

"Hey Ino-chan, I think I'm going to call it a night." Sakura stretched, standing up as she took a moment to straighten her ruffled clothing. "I've had enough of stupid, inconsiderate men." She sighed dejectedly, turning on her heel; she promptly stepped over to the door.

Unfortunately, she just missed the mischievous look that was plastered across Ino's smirking face, as a feigned innocent expression quickly replaced the former one.

"Oh but _Sakuraaa-chan! _It's still early, why don't we watch a movie tonight?" She whined childishly, crossing her arms over her chest in protest. The pinkette casted a lazy glance over her shoulder, to see Ino showing on her I'm-not-going-to-let-this-go look.

Sakura sighed, reluctantly giving in. "I'll go get changed then," She informed, as she wandered out of the room and into the darkened hallway. "But nothing romantic please, Ino-chan." She added.

"Alright then, horror movie marathon it is! I'll get the popcorn ready." Ino happily chimed, while she skipped over to one of the wooden cupboards to grab a few packets of microwavable popcorn, then tossed it into the microwave while pressing the required time limit. She grinned in anticipation as she whipped her pink phone from her pocket, her blue eyes quickly scanning the screen for the desired contacts.

'This is _definitely _going to keep Sakura busy for the next couple of weeks.' She thought to herself, almost feeling guilty for planning to set her best friend up with a couple handsome guys. Key word – _almost_.

'But, it's for her own benefit. I'm just making sure she doesn't grow old with a bunch of smelly cats.' She reassured herself that she was doing the right thing, besides Sakura just needed a push in the right direction.

Oh, how wrong could Ino be?

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**20 _Perfect_ Dates**

**End of Chapter 1**

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**26/06/11 A/N**: I've edited this chapter, so there are some minor changes in some of the sentences but otherwise everything else is fine. I'm working on the other chapters now, so they should be posted soon!

A/N: Okay! This chapter is done –I've been planning this for some time now, but the next chapter is going to be chosen by you guys!

Well, at least the guy will be chosen.

So when you review, don't forget to add the guys' name who you want Sakura to date/meet in the next chapter.

I'll probably add a poll on my profile after this ^^ so, you can vote on there too!

Thanks ^^

~Saku-Chan


	2. Date 1: Sasori

**Disclaimer:** Nope.

**A/N:** Hmm, Sasori won the first date. Honestly didn't expect that! Well I hope you like the chapter :D

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**20 **_**Perfect **_**Dates**

**Chapter 2**

**Date 1 -Sasori**

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The morning sunshine slowly streamed through the dull coloured curtains, brightening the darkened room as the light seeped through and did its job when the blonde stirred, fluttering her eyes open until they were fully awake. She let out a tired yawn as she pulled herself into a sitting position on the couch, quickly rummaging through the depths of her designer purse that was conveniently settled by her feet before pulling out her phone and checked the time.

It was only an early eight o'clock; they still had enough time to get ready. Ino sighed, carelessly tossing the pink phone back into the bag and back onto the floor. She briefly glanced towards the sleeping pinkette, who muffled incoherent words into her pillow.

Ino chuckled softly as she stood up and stretched, another yawn escaped her lips as she departed from the room and up the stairs with thoughts only of a nice warm shower. Leaving behind her friend, who started to wake up from her deep sleep, as she adjusted herself on the couch and rubbed her eyes that were still stinging from her abrupt wake.

"Ino?" She called, sniffing slightly as she managed to stand from the couch. She noticed some popcorn packets left on the floor from the previous night, when they watched the movie. She inwardly shuddered at some certain scenes replayed itself in her mind, that had _definitely_ put her off horror movies for a while.

Sakura assumed that Ino was probably using the shower, like she did every morning. So she walked towards the kitchen, to help herself to some breakfast. The pinkette made two toasts that were soaked in strawberry jam, while she made another two of buttered toasts for the blonde. She happily bit into her toast as she continued to consume the rest before her friend decided to join her, her hair styled to perfection, but still held some traces of water as she walked over to the kettle to pour some tea for the Sakura and herself.

"Nice outfit Ino, what's your agenda today?" Sakura inquired curiously, as Ino settled into her seat and passed her tea towards her. The blond looked surprised for a moment, before smiling suspiciously .

"Oh nothing, I was just wondering—" Ino started off, but was cut off by the pinkette.

"No Ino. I'm not coming with you." Sakura stated sternly, taking a sip out of her cup. Ino always attempted to drag her along with her to some of her modelling sets, while trying to convince her that she could have a great model career.

Sakura always declined offers that included anything that involved becoming famous, mostly because her life would be overbearing enough that she just couldn't handle all of the pressure from the work, the paparazzi –everything. The only career that she wanted was become a doctor, to simply save lives. A hard yet suitable job for her.

"But _Sakura_! You have to come today!" Ino cried, her toast layed forgotten as she glared the pinkette. She normally skipped eating meals whenever possible, so that she would successfully achieve her goal size.

A pointless goal if you ask Sakura, if Ino wanted to go on a diet, she could _still _eat as long as she can maintain a healthy diet that would mainly consist of salads, pastas etc. But Ino assumes that whenever she eats, specifically chocolate –which happened to be one of her _many _weaknesses.

Then again, who wouldn't like a nice bar of chocolate?

"Not today Ino, I _do _have to work too." Sakura replied, throwing in the last piece of jam covered toast into her mouth as a satisfied smile settled onto her face.

"I could just call in sick for you?" Ino swiftly snapped out her phone, ready to dial the hospital's number. An innocent look flashed upon her face that was always seemed to be plastered on top magazines. Her other hand drummed impatiently on the table as she waited for Sakura to answer.

"Ino that would be the _third_ time you did this! And besides I want to go to work anyway." Sakura shrugged nonchalantly, pushing herself out of her seat as the chair scrapped the floor and wouldn't help but wince at the sound.

"Your point _is_? It's not like you would lose your job! My father's friends with the boss there anyway." Ino stated in a matter-of-fact tone, while inspecting her turquoise coloured nails boredly, as she watched from the coroner of her eye to see Sakura scrutinize her expression carefully, to see if she was joking.

"Okay Ino," She sighed, already feeling regret growing as she wandered through the hallway towards her room to change.

"Thanks Sakura!" Ino chimed happily, watching as Sakura's retreating figure disappear upstairs. Well, that was easier than expected. She honestly thought Sakura would have protested a little longer, but she probably didn't want another headache to form like last time. Ino smirked as she hastily pressed the call button and waited for the person to pick up.

Moments later, she heard the person finally answer his phone.

"Ino, why are you calling me?" A smooth voice rang through the phone, instantly making the model blush but quickly shook it off when she came back to her senses.

"You know that favour you owe me, Sasori?"

"No."

Ino twitched, annoyed by his bluntness. But a dark expression lingered on her face as she leaned back against her chair, and continued to speak.

"Well, unless you want everyone to know about your little _hobby_. Then I would suggest that you meet me by the usual modelling studio in an hour." Ino instructed, flicking her hair over her shoulder arrogantly as a smirk crept on her face.

"Fine." He answered, before the phone went dead. The smirk was still in place as she dialled another number and waited as she tapped her fingernails impatiently onto the table.

"Good morning Ino-sama, how may I help you?"

"Oh Shizune, I just wanted to inform you that Sakura isn't coming in today. She's feeling under the weather again." Ino spoke professionally, Shizune was the main secretary of the hospital and happened to be very good friends with Sakura's godmother –Tsunade, who was the legal guardian of Sakura.

"Sakura-san's still not well?" Shizune inquired sceptically, as Ino heard the rustling of some papers. Most likely she was in the middle of sorting out Sakura's work to be passed onto another working doctor.

"I'm afraid so, but don't worry she'll be fine tomorrow." Ino reassured, slightly adjusting the phone as she absentmindedly picked up her toast and took a quick bite.

"Alright then Ino-sama, I'll be sure to tell Tsunade."

"Bye Shizune!" Ino said before clicking the end call button and dropped it onto the table, along with her half eaten toast. She heard some footsteps coming from the staircase and took one last sip of her warm tea, the liquid slithering down her throat, giving her a burst of energy as she walked out of the kitchen towards the front door.

"C'mon Sakura, we're going to be late." Ino stated, watching as the pinkette was descending down the stairs and shouted in protest. "Ino pig, I haven't even finished my breakfast!"

"Tough luck forehead," Ino rolled her eyes, already retrieving her coat as well as Sakura's, while her friend walked down the stairs with a huff and attempted to make a break for the kitchen.

"No can do Sakura, I'll get you a Starbucks coffee on the way there." Ino opened the door, pushing the reluctant girl out before closing it behind her and securely locked it.

"Make it a grande Caffé Mocha, and you got a deal." Sakura accepted defeat, if it included Starbucks coffee.

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"Stupid Ino. Stupid Starbucks coffee." Sakura muttered under her breath, they were currently at _one_ of the biggest modelling buildings in the country. Where there were swarms of paparazzi by the main entrance, Ino was acting like everything was fine and peachy –but it _wasn't_. It was probably because of all the acting classes she took up when they were younger, which is why she was one of the most successful models ever.

She never seemed to have a problem, but then again she couldn't express her emotions freely like when she normally did back home. She didn't want to earn the reputation of being another stuck up model, which wasn't true if you genially knew Ino like she did.

"Oh look, _Ino's _here."

The said blond, who had just returned back from makeup was spotted by the famous, yet arrogant Karin. Her red hair, styled in an odd manner was nice and straight on one side, then it was jarred and sharp on the other. Surprising, instead of wearing contact lenses, she wore slender black designer glasses, her unnatural red eyes narrowed as she looked disgusted with the mere slight of her ex rival.

"Karin." Ino nodded politely, but Sakura noticed her gritting her teeth in annoyance. The red head had switched from being a top model, to a fashion editor. But to Ino's dismay, she still kept her connections with the modelling industry.

"How's life Ino? I hear you're having some troubles lately, there's been some quite nasty rumours being going around." Karin smirked, an unreadable glint flashed in her eyes.

"My life's fine, Karin. In fact, I've been offered lots of modelling jobs." She enlightened the visibly surprised woman, who pushed her glasses back into place as she arrogantly flipped her hair over her shoulder with an angry huff before stamping off somewhere else.

"Nice Ino." Sakura grinned, as the blonde smirked in satisfaction. "Well, if she wants to be a bitch, then I can be one too." She winked playfully, earning an amused chuckle from the pinkette.

"Ino-sama, the photo shoot is starting soon!" A nervous employee called out, as he scrabbled back from where he came from. "Aww he's a cutie! Well I better go now Sakura, I'll see you later 'kay?" Ino waved over her shoulder, gracefully walking around the corner, leaving behind a confused pinkette.

"So...what now?" Sakura mused, shrugging to herself as she walked alone in the hallway with her coffee in hand.

Hopefully there wasn't any model scouts lurking around this floor, the last thing she wanted was for them to constantly bug her about becoming the next top model, which was very much Ino's department –not _hers. _

Sakura was about to turn around a corner when she bumped into something or _someone_. "Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention." Sakura bowed her head, as a stream of more apologies poured out of her mouth before she walked passed the person, but stopped when she felt an arm wrapped itself around her waist, preventing her from walking away.

Confused, she looked upwards. Her jade eyes searched through pools of amber as his red hair tickled her forehead, she seemed hypnotised merely by his intense stare.

"Hmm, you're a pretty doll." He stated, while tilting his head to get a better angle of Sakura –who mind you, didn't have the slightest idea what was going on. And just assumed that her luck was turning on her, the male was probably just another model scouts.

"Excuse me?" Sakura blinked, her emerald eyes slightly widening as he stroked her cheek while analyzing her bewildered expression.

"Yes, a _very_ pretty doll." He nodded, finally letting go of the girl as a small smile curled its way onto his lips. "I was supposed to be waiting for this girl, but you seem more..._interesting_."

"Interesting?" Sakura squeaked out, immediately backing away from the stranger. "No! I'm actually quite boring!" She waved nervously in front of her face, but that didn't seem to diminish his curiosity as he proceeded to advance closer towards the pinkette.

"Boring?" He repeated, arching a slender eyebrow. Making Sakura even more nervous than was she feeling, "No, any girl that had pink hair _or _didn't even know who I was shouldn't be boring." He smirked, crossing his arms over his chest in an almost haughty manner.

"I dyed my hair pink." She attempted, hoping that he would fall for the lame excuse. But sadly, it didn't work.

"Oh really?" His impassive expression changed into amused as his eyes glinted "What dye product did you use?"

Sakura inwardly slapped her forehead, how the hell was she suppose to answer that one? "Uh...damn it." She muttered, trying to remember what Ino used..." Clairol's Nice'n Easy." She blurted out, pondering for a moment...did that company make pink hair dyes?

"Hmm, I didn't know they sold pink hair products." He stated bluntly, his bored gaze watching the nervous girl, who started mumbling incoherent words and could only make out some words.

But, one particular name captured all of his attention as it was hissed maliciously out of the pinkette's mouth. It was no doubt that _this_ was the girl that Ino had been ringing him about in the late hours of the night.

He assumed that she had no knowledge that Ino had set her up with him, poor doll he mused. A look of sympathy momentarily struck his face, before its usual impassive took over.

"Well, although you've somehow managed to explain that. How come you don't know me?" He inquired, leaning closer towards the deeply blushing pinkette.

"B-Because I don't read much magazines." Sakura noticeably stuttered, lifting up her hand to cover her flushing face as the male stood towering over her. His playful smirk was no where in sight, but instead a small smile could be detected.

He gently removed her petite hand from her face, Sasori couldn't explain it but, somehow he held a soft spot for the pinkette. She wasn't like the usual fan girls that stalked him endless, which attracted him to her.

"Well, I'm Sasori. And you might be?" He introduced politely, raising her hand to his lips and brushed it softly when it came into contact with his lips. His eyes never left her widened jade eyes.

"S-Sakura." She answered, lowering her eyes to the floor. She had to admit, although he was completely _hot_ –she would never act like a rabid fan girl to any male.

Sasori chuckled, his hand letting down of hers. "Your cute, you know that?" He smiled, inwardly fighting with his growing desire to hug her, she had _no_ idea how adorable she was being.

"I've heard it once or twice." Sakura mumbled, her gaze finally returned back up as she glanced at the male before her. "I gotta go, I think my friend's probably waiting for me." She informed, uncomfortably shifting her eyes away from his.

Sasori's face fell slightly, his time with the cherry blossom was already over? "But, uh...don't you want me to get you another coffee?" He inquired, the Starbucks cup laid on the tiled floor forgotten. The warm liquid, now cold was leaking out of the container. When did that fall anyway?

"Uh, you don't have to do that." Sakura declined, walking over to the cup as she picked it up before walking away to dump it in the trash. She could feel the blush that marred her skin slowly fade away, but it quickly returned when she heard footsteps following her.

"Stop following me Sasori." She looked over her shoulder, only to squeak in surprise as she found him standing rather closely behind her. "Leave me alone." She narrowed her eyes at the _innocent_ male standing before her.

"Why? I'm just going to buy you a cup of coffee?" He smiled, indicting to the cold coffee cup in her hand. Sakura glared at him, as she chucked her cup into a nearby bin. "I already said no Sasori."

"I don't accept the answer _no_ Sakura." He smirked, taking her arm as he walked towards the elevator. Sakura struggled against him, but her attempts were futile as he kept a firm grip on her arm.

"You do realise that there isn't any Starbucks around this area." She deadpanned.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to treat you out." He stated in a-matter-of-fact tone, ignoring the pinkette's protests as they finally reached the elevator. He pressed the main floor button, before returning his attention back to Sakura who had stopped her protesting.

"What's wrong Sakura? You actually seem _sad _that I'm taking you out." Sasori inquired, concern lacing his words as he stroked Sakura's cheek.

"Maybe it's because you're taking me against my will?" Sakura sighed, slightly relaxing in his hold. There wasn't much point in fighting against him, especially when they were currently in a _closed_ elevator.

"You know you wanted to come." He purred, instantly scaring the hell out of Sakura as he began nuzzling into her hair. "Uh Sasori, can you _stop _doing that." The pinkette roughly pushed the red head away, just when the doors thankfully opened to reveal the busy lobby –but some of the bystanders just happened to be girls. But not just _any_ girl – the worse type of all, rabid fan girls were swarmed all around the room.

'Uh oh' Sakura thought, instantly moving out of the way before any of those vicious girls saw her with the male inside.

"Is that Sasori-sama?!"

"Kya! He's _soo _handsome!"

"Sasori-sama, please marry _me_!"

"No marry me! _Bear my children_!!"

'Wow, it's nothing stranger than fan girls' Sakura laughed nervously, as she edged closer to the main entrance. She quickly flipped out her black phone and called Ino on speed dial, while stepping out into the cold crispy afternoon air.

Instead of hearing Ino's usually chirpy voice ringing through her ears, she had been send straight to her voicemail. Once she heard the _beep_ after the considerably long I'm-not-here message – which she had to remind Ino to change, again - she informed Ino that she had already left due to some _unfortunate_ circumstances and that she would explain when she got home.

Sakura pondered whether or not to take a taxi back home, as cars swiftly passed her, she shivered when she felt the cold air breeze around her. Sakura wrapped her arms around herself, in a poor attempt to stay warm. She should've chosen the thicker coat, but stupid _Ino _was rushing her into leaving quite early in the morning.

The pinkette sighed, snuggling deeper in her thin layered coat. There she was, standing just outside of the building. Freezing and had no idea what to do next. She couldn't help but feel a _little _bit guilty over leaving Sasori behind, he _was _only trying to help.

"Maybe I should have just accepted his offer and got it over with." Sakura mumbled, subconsciously biting her lower cherry glossed lip as she lowered her eyes down. The guilt lingered for a moment, as it washed Sakura's other emotions away.

"You really think so?"

"I guess...I should have been nicer..." Sakura trailed off, only realising there and then that someone rather _familiar _had answered her. "Sasori—" Sakura spun on her heel, only for him to hastily cover her mouth.

"If you want those fan girls to find out that I'm here, I would suggest you carry on." He glared, taking Sakura's arm as he dragged her along until they got a taxi.

'Huh, for some reason all that regret is gone' Sakura twitched in annoyance, as she tried to swat away Sasori hands away from her. "Stop it Sasori!" She whined, but that wasn't enough to stop him –although he does admit, he found it absolutely adorable - as he changed his tactics and began tickling her.

"Ah, young love." The driver smiled, watching the 'couple' laughing.

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"You eat a lot for a girl like yourself." Sasori commented, watching the pinkette finish her meal. He couldn't help but feeling slightly attracted to her, it was _definitely_ a change from being around fan girls.

"Well what can I say? I didn't have much for breakfast." Sakura replied, smiling at the red head, who in return felt a faint blush appear across his cheeks. "Thanks for today Sasori, you actually turned out to be a nice guy."

The said male smiled back "What do you mean by 'turned out to be a nice guy'?" He inquired, curious for her answer as he leaned forward slightly.

"I read some articles about you, they mentioned something about being a 'cold hearted guy." Sakura recited, using quotation marks.

"I thought you didn't _read_ magazines." He teased, watching the pink haired girl flush slightly. "I said _much _magazines, and besides my friend always brings them home." She shrugged nonchalantly, her gaze momentarily flickered towards her phone. She surprisingly hadn't touched it the entire time they arrived at the restaurant.

Sakura quickly looked through it, to notice a couple unanswered calls –from Ino, and some text messages from _Ino_. She quickly read one of the messages, averting her attention from the red head in front of her for a moment.

-

It read:

**5:45**

**From Ino-pig**

Sakura?? Why haven't you replied? You're not on another date without telling me again!

That's mean of you Sakura-chan, _very mean_ indeed.

Let me remind you that you've got work tomorrow, and Shizune is starting to get suspicious.

Now, get your arse back here before I call Tsunade. Who really mind the fact that your dating (she's still waiting for you to give her grandchildren you know)

Bye Forehead!

Ino x

-

Sakura stared at the message blankly, before sighing. She looked towards Sasori who seemed a little bit love struck at the moment...which was _really _starting to freak her out.

"Uh Sasori? I have to go now...why are you still staring at me?" Sakura inquired, leaning back slightly as she slowly stood up from her seat. As did Sasori, who hadn't spoken a word since she checked her phone.

They walked in silence as they exited the restaurant, Sakura could've sworn she felt glares boring into her back as she walked out.

'Stupid fan girls' Sakura rolled her eyes, as Sasori opened the taxi door for her. She smiled, before going into the car –only to be pulled back into a hard chest, confused she looked up to Sasori, who held an unreadable expression.

"Sasori—?" Sakura's voice was lost as he crushed his lips with hers, her eyes' widened as she pushed him away. Inwardly angry with herself for falling into his planned trap.

"Goodbye Sasori." Sakura said, not trusting herself to speak as she looked away.

He smiled softly at the girl, who he had grown attached to. He wrapped his arms around her, taking her scent in as he pushed a piece of paper into her open handed before closing it.

"I'll see you soon Sakura." He nodded, motioning for her to get into the taxi, she obliged as she settled herself into the chair as he swiftly shut the door sending her a playful wink as the taxi drove away.

Sakura watched as Sasori's smiling face slowly faded away, she turned her head as she lowered her eyes to the paper that he had given her. She opened it, to find his number written neatly with his signature below with a small message scribbled at the very bottom.

'_I love you'_

She smiled as she gripped the paper and shook her head her. Idiot, she mused. But that didn't stop her happy mood as the thought of Sasori smiling at her lingered in her mind.

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**A/N2: **Wow, I think this is the longer chapter I've written so far xD I thought Sasori was really sweet in this chapter, but don't worry he's probably pop into another date –which Sakura is still unaware of :D

So who's going to be next I wonder?

Remember to vote for the person you want Sakura to meet in the next chapter! I'll make a new poll now ^^

Please review if you liked it!

~Saku-Chan


	3. Date 2: Shikamaru

**Disclaimer:** No. No. No.

**A/N**: Hey :D Thanks for voting! ~Shikamaru won the poll, again I honestly didn't expect for him to win!

So hope you like the chapter :)

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**20 **_**Perfect **_**Dates **

**Chapter 3 **

**Date 2: Shikamaru**

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"Well, it seems that your daughter is fine Mrs Matsumoto." Sakura informed the intensive parent, while the small brunette glanced innocently around the room, almost like she was looking for something.

"I'm glad to hear this Doctor Haruno." She nodded, her gaze slid towards the pouting girl beside her. Sakura already knew what she was looking for as she smiled softly, before walking over to her desk and pulled out her drawer to retrieve a cherry flavoured lollypop.

"Here you go, dear." Sakura offered, extending her hand out to the beaming child who bowed out of sheer politeness before taking the desired sweet from her. The mother chuckled while patting her daughter's head, a sheepish look lingered on the brunette's face as she happily slipped the lollipop into her mouth as the white stick popped out.

"So Shizune will arrange the next appointment, which is most likely to be next week." Sakura quickly skimmed through her planner that laid flat on her desk, until she luckily found a vacant space and lifted her head back up with a smile. "Yes, in fact. Just tell her to book Tuesday morning for you please?"

The mother nodded in understanding, while pushing her overly excited daughter out the door, who glanced over her shoulder and winked. Sakura laughed at the little girl, as they walked out of the door, their retreating backs eventually disappearing within the crowded hospital. It was only eleven thirty, yet she had a booked afternoon already, maybe she could take an early dinner break? She didn't think she had any more appointments until one or two o'clock.

Her tired gaze momentarily travelled over to the occupied space of her room, that she stored the countless flowers that she had received from Sasori. She had only met the guy merely a few days ago, yet he assumes that after some flowers she would fall _madly in love _with him. She could barely get away from all his gifts, as they continued to pile up in both her small office _and _in her own home too.

Sakura sighed, as the memories that she had spend with the dazzlingly handsome male flowed back into her mind. She subconsciously bit her lower lip, as she leaned her head backwards and let out an exasperated groan. It wasn't like she didn't _like _him, it was just she had only met him a few days ago...but maybe this was his way of expressing his emotions? He was well known for being an impassive male, who was usually seen as cold hearted.

But that minor fact didn't seem to diminish his countless fans, as she had witnessed herself. They acted quite viciously as they attempted to get near the red head, who didn't seem in the least bit interested in them and chose to follow her instead. _Her_, a reluctant woman who he was determined to pursue, she was sure that he received many confessions of girls' undying affections for him _yet_ he chooses her.

Even after many well thought out hours of trying to figure out why, she had only received a headache from it. She honestly would've preferred being left alone, instead of being constantly pestered by a successful though _annoying _business man, who happened to have good connections with Ino's father. The said blonde was surprisingly overjoyed when Sakura told her what had happened, she inwardly couldn't suppress the growing suspicion that Ino had somehow planned that they had met.

The pinkette ran a hand through her messy tresses and pondered on whether she should take her early break. She spotted her clock that was settled in the right hand corner on her desk, she had already wasted enough time thinking about that damned Sasori.

She stood up from her seat, pushing away any lingering thoughts on the red head as she walked out her room, with her coat in hand. Sakura hadn't drunk any coffee since their encounter, but instead chose hot chocolate. It didn't manage to give her the burst she needed to get herself awake in the morning but it would give her the excuse to have marshmallows in them.

"Sakura, darling!"

The said girl twitched in pure utter annoyance as her friends' cheery voice rang through her ears, Sakura sighed before pivoting on her heel to face the perky blonde who decided to flaunt her new –obviously _designer _clothes. No doubt she thought she would grace her presence as if it would brighten her friends' mood.

"Ino, I was just leaving." Sakura deadpanned, walking towards the main desk where Shizune was currently sitting, with the phone in hand.

"Oh good!" She chimed happily, her red pumps tapping loudly on the clear floor as she waited for Sakura to inform the secretary that she was taking an early break. Ino kept herself busy for the moment, while she inspected her newly polished nails that were supposedly guaranteed to last for a week.

"Miss Haruno, you've got another delivery." The delivery boy, Sora called out and true to his word he held out another set of vibrant coloured flowers. Ino had always detected that he harboured a little crush for the pinkette, since he never seemed to give _her _a second glance. Though, she had to admit, he was pretty good looking for a young one –had to be about eighteen, nineteen she thought. She noticed how a faint blush appeared at the bridge of his nose when his hand slightly came into contact with the oblivious pink haired woman.

"Thanks Sora," Sakura took the flowers, sending a smile towards the male before turning on her heel back towards her office with the blonde following close behind. "What is this, the bloody _tenth_ time I've gotten flowers?" She muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes as she finally reached her office before pushing it open and carefully arranged the flowers amongst the other many flowers surrounding parts of her room.

"Wow Sakura, I didn't know you were growing a garden in your office." Ino teased lightly, watching as the pinkette sighed before gracelessly collapsing into her seat. "I don't know what to do Ino, he keeps sending me hundreds of flowers." Sakura grumbled loudly enough for the blonde to hear as she banged her head onto her desk, a dull _thud _was heard as she remained seated. Not having the energy to go out anymore.

"I don't understand why your complaining, _tons _of girls—heck even I would be happy enough to have a chance with him!" Ino leaned against the desk, watching the pinkette become more depressed. Not hearing an answer, she decided to continue. "I mean, _c'mon _Sakura! Why aren't you attracted to him? ...Wait, you aren't—"

Already knowing what she was going to say, Sakura cut her off. "_No _Ino, it's just...it seems too soon for me to get into another relationship." Sakura admitted, sniffing as she lifted her head up for a moment before lowering it into her folded arms. The usually perky blonde's eyes softened, as she reached out to pat the girl's head. "That's fine Sakura, but there's no point in sulking about it! You need to get out and date this boy!" She grinned, pumping a fist into the air. "'Cause if you _don't_, then I'll date him!"

Sakura felt a small smile slip onto her face as a chuckled escaped her lips "Maybe you're right Ino...wow that sounded weird." Sakura mumbled the last part, inwardly hoping that the blonde hadn't heard the last comment and would immediately launch at her with anger filled protests. Thankfully enough, it seemed that Ino had either shrugged the remark off, or was just unaware of it ever being uttered from her lips.

"Yes, of _course _I'm right Sakura. Whenever am I wrong?" Ino grinned smugly, removing herself from the desk as she straightened out her slightly rumpled clothing. Sakura merely rolled her eyes, not bothering to retort back. There wasn't much point in responding to _that _without being bombarded with questions asking when she was ever wrong, ah there were _many _times, but Sakura decided to shrug it off and to enjoy her boy-free break.

"I feel like some hot chocolate, how about you Ino?" Sakura inquired, already standing up from her seat as she watched the blonde widen her eyes at her. "_Forehead_, you know that I'm on a strict diet. I can't afford to earn calories mindless like you do."

"Ino-_pig_, there's nothing wrong with treating yourself once in a while." Sakura replied, walking out the door as the blonde started to ramble on about how diets work, but all that seemed to drown out as the pinkette kept her steady gaze on the main entrance. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to deal with more flowers being sent by the rich red head that seemed to plague her mind on more than one occasion.

"_Hey_, I treat myself forehead. Why do you think I love shopping so much?" Ino gave her the _look_ that pointed out the obvious. "Yes Ino-pig, but why would you like spending more money on clothes that you don't even wear more than once?" Sakura arched an eyebrow, inwardly relieved that they were finally outside. But couldn't suppress the odd chill that ran up her spine, something bad was going to happen –_she _just knew it.

"Alright, I admit that I _do _tend to only wear the outfits for one day. But seriously, is that _so _wrong?" Ino inquired, exasperation evident in her tone as she huffed stubbornly.

"Uh, yes?" Sakura shook her head, as they arrived at the nearest café –which was usually where she spends most of her lunch breaks. Ino saved a seat for Sakura, as she watched the pinkette wait in line to order she watched the pinkette wait in line to order their drinks. She pondered on whether it was safe enough to call the next guy, she honestly didn't expect for Sasori to become so... _obsessed_ with Sakura. Sure, she had half expected him to slowly fall for her, but this was simply going too fast –for Sakura, of course.

Ino lightly bit her lower lip, her phone already in hand as she decided to dial the number as she held it close to hear her ear. She waited patiently for about three rings before he answered.

"_Yes _Ino, what can I do for you?" Ino smiled, the sound of her old friend was just refreshing from all the brainless models that she worked with daily –apart from Sakura, who was completely different. As she was her best friend.

"Hey _Shika! _Wow, it's been a while since I've called you that. But that's not what I wanted to talk about, look meet me by the Konoha hospital alright?" Ino instructed sternly, absentmindedly twirling a strand of her strawberry blonde hair.

"Do I even want to know what you're up to?" He inquired, his lazy tone droning into the phone, instantly making Ino roll her eyes. "Well, honestly I can't talk long. So I'm afraid that you'll just have to find out by yourself, you're a smart boy Shika. You'll be fine!" Ino encouraged happily, but hastily rushed out a goodbye before clicking the end call button and slipped in back into her purse as Sakura turned around with the hot chocolates in hand. –Hers was a non fat latte with a generous portion of whipped cream.

"Thanks Sakura!" She chimed, blowing the steaming hot drink before taking a quick sip. Sakura arched an eyebrow as Ino kept quiet after that, and couldn't stand the silence –it simply didn't suit Ino's usually bubbly aura.

"Ino, is there something wrong?" Sakura took a sip before settling the cup back onto the table. She carefully took in her friend's calm composed self. Something she didn't normally see, she considered it a rare occasion for Ino to act so...un-Ino like.

"Wrong? Why would anything be wrong?" Ino inquired, taking another sip as her gaze flickered back towards the curious pinkette. Inwardly, she felt like she was going to freak. Sakura had _almost _found out about the conversation, she didn't want to have to face the wrath of an angry pinkette, _especially_ when she'll find out just how many dates she's planned for her.

"Ino, you were being quiet. I felt like something was bugging you," She paused for a moment, before a sly grin found its way onto her face. "Now this wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you were talking to your _new _boyfriend on the phone?" Sakura teased, wondering if it was true as Ino began to relax as a smile curled at the ends of her lips.

"Yeah, that's it." Ino nodded happily, inwardly glad that she had gotten out of that one. She thanked her years of acting classes for that one, the 'boyfriend' theory had luckily wiped away any sights of curiosity of why she was acting strange, but it did manage to trigger off some questions about her newest boyfriend.

"Hmm, maybe we should meet sometime?" Sakura leaned back in her seat, stirring the remains of her hot chocolate nonchalantly.

Ino shrugged carelessly "Uh, well you know me Sakura. They never _do _last." She glanced at the time, which clearly stated that it was **12:04**. An early afternoon at that, maybe Shikamaru decided to get off his lazy arse and actually follow her orders for once. Ino inwardly sighed; sometimes she wondered _why _she become friends with a couch potato like him. She also happened to have an interview for _Vogue _magazine, so she didn't want to be late.

"Forehead, sorry to make this short but I've got to go –a _very _important interview to attend." Ino flipped her hair over her shoulder, quickly retrieving her compact mirror from her purse as she applied more makeup –as if she didn't have enough on her face. Sakura rolled her eyes and in a matter of minutes, Ino was done and ready to leave.

"So, how about we go clubbing tonight Sakura?" Ino asked out of the blue, as they departed from the warm aired conditioned café and back into the cold winter air.

"Sorry, but I've got a late shift at the hospital." Sakura scratched her head sheepishly, the blonde's face feel dramatically as she gasped. "You're telling me you don't have time to hang around with your _best friend_?" She accused, emphasizing the last two words as she narrowed her azure orbs at the pinkette.

"_Ino_, you know that I always spend _all _my free time with you. Besides, I have to catch up on my work anyway." Sakura stated; exasperation evident in her tone as she shot the blonde a blank look. Ino huffed, averting her gaze away from Sakura. "Whatever, I guess I'll see you back at the house?" She called over her shoulder, as her ride just pulled up near the pavement her, bright sequined phone already snapped out, no doubt she was calling her manager that she would be arriving shortly at the interview.

Sakura sighed, shoving her hands into the depths of her pockets as she wandered through the streets towards the hospital. Her mind currently consumed by thoughts of a certain red head, she inwardly cured herself for thinking about him. He was probably the type of guy to be interested in a girl for a few days, and then when he's finally tricked her into thinking that he actually _liked_ her –he'll immediately break her heart.

The pinkette lowered her eyes; a slightly hurt look crossed her face, yeah she would know all about that, since once of her ex boyfriend managed to do that. 'But I'm _not_ going to fall for it this time, not even if he continues to buy me a forest of flowers' Sakura thought to herself, a smile twitched at the corners of her lips as she felt her mood get better. She _definitely_ wasn't going to let him win, not if she had anything to say about it.

Once Sakura entered the hospital, she was instantly attacked with nurses asking if she could inspect one of their patients, along with Shizune's voice calling out from the front desk reminding her of her appointments which were scheduled soon. She merely nodded as she returned her attention back to the nurses surrounding her, she gave some excuses and that she would eventually see to them once she had finished her assisted work.

When she had managed to get rid of the persistent nurses, Sakura walked back towards her office, hoping that it wouldn't be overcrowded with a dozen more flowers. It already smelt like a tropical forest in there, the pinkette sighed in annoyance. If she _wanted _an air freshener for the room, she could have more room instead of having it stacked with a dozen flowers.

Opening the door, there inside was even _more _flowers than she had expected to be. The pinkette took a deep breath, as she bit her lower lip in a poor attempt to stop the angry scream that was bursting to escape. That _damn_ Sasori was getting on her last nerves; Sakura ran a hand through her pink hair as she heard a faint familiar ringtone suddenly rung, she quickly retrieved her phone from her pocket to identify the called, only to find out that it was an unknown one.

She clicked the button before placing it beside her ear, "Hello?" while dropping some papers that she had received from the nurses onto her desk, furrowing her eyebrows together as she started sorting them out.

"_Sakura,_ it's good to hear your voice again."

The said girl's eyes widened in shock, her grasp on the phone slightly slipping as the male purred through the phone. Seemingly happy to be finally talking to her again.

"How the hell did you get my number?" Sakura growled, rubbing her temples at the irritating male as she collapsed into her seat. The red head merely chuckled in amusement, which didn't help the annoyed pinkette in the least.

"I have my ways _Sakura-chan_," He answered smugly, liking the way her name rolled off his tongue. The said pinkette rolled her eyes, as she settled the phone down and put it on speaker phone before starting to actually do some work.

"Well Sasori, don't you have any _real_ work to do? I'm pretty busy myself." Sakura inquired, picking up a nearby pen as she started to write, as she took a quick sip of her freshly make coffee cup. "Of course I'm busy," He paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm actually in a meeting right now."

Sakura literally _spat _out her drink, the warm liquid flew directly from her mouth and onto the floor in front of her. He was in a bloody meeting? What was he thinking calling her?

Stupid idiot, Sakura thought as she quickly composed herself. She cleared her throat awkwardly, "Uh, did you just say that you were in a _meeting_?" Sakura deadpanned, diverting her attention from her work for a moment and towards the black innocent phone that layed on her desk.

"Yes, love. But I just wanted to hear your voice again." If he was expecting her to swoon happily, then he would be _very _disappointed. He was probably only pulling this stunt because he thought that she would have to act nice to her, because of his 'meeting', for all she knew he could have been lying.

"Well if you wanted to hear my voice _so _badly, then why not actually come here to visit me? It's not like I'm busy or anything." Sakura said sarcastically, returning her attention back to her work as she finished signing most of the paperwork.

After a while, it became _really _quiet. Too quiet if you asked Sakura, she gazed closely at her phone to see that he had already hang up –which was quite surprisingly...until he actually took what she said literally.

_Shit_. Sakura thought, slapping her forehead. How could she be so stupid? She had just unintentionally convinced him to stalk her in the hospital, he probably annoy her to death if he found her...that is unless she can hide herself from him until he finally leaves?

It would cost her valuable time that she had to use working –but if it saved her from being constantly pestered by Sasori, then Sakura didn't mind at all. The pinkette instantly stood up from her desk, leaving behind the abandoned papers, along with her cold coffee towards the main secretary desk to inform Shizune that if anyone asked for her, she was on break.

But it seemed that a certain _infuriating _red head had already beat her to the desk, once he had reached her sight, she made a dash for the next room before he noticed her –and would probably attack her without a second thought. She didn't know her colleagues finding out about this, no doubt they would tease her for the rest of her natural born life _or _they would basically act like a bunch of rabid fan girls.

Either way, she didn't want them finding out. It wouldn't exactly make her life any easier, what with the stressful job, her constantly interfering best friend –along with her _not so secret _admirer.

Once she entered what she assumed was the waiting room, she gracelessly fell into one of the many seats that filled the white painted room. Sakura momentarily took a moment to gaze boredly around the room, only the colour white striking her emerald eyes until an unmoving figure was slouched on the chair opposite from her, his eyes were shut as he leaned his fist against his cheek in what it seemed a trance.

Sakura stayed quiet for a moment, the sound of footsteps were becoming louder until they eventually passed the room and probably heading towards her now empty office that was filled with all the flowers that could've been mistaken for either a garden or a forest. She let out a sigh of relief, her gaze flickering from the door towards the seemingly asleep male.

She scrutinized his carefree expression, why would he be sleeping in a waiting room? The pinkette, suddenly filled with innocent curiously wandered closer towards the sleeping brunette. She carefully inspected him in case of any cuts or bruises, but he seemed clean enough.

He surprised her but snapping his eyes open, his black orbs searched through hers. Sakura blinked, confused as she noticed that he stayed silent as he observed her.

"You...have pink hair." He stated, nodding his head.

Sakura arched a slender eyebrow "Uh yeah, and you have brown hair." She retorted, a small smile curled at the corner of her lips.

He merely chucked in response "But brown hair is common, pink hair on the other hand isn't." He returned the smile, "You seem like a troublesome person." He leaned back into his seat, with his arms acting as a pillow for his head.

"Uh thank you? You seem like a lazy person." She teased lightly, a small giggle escaping her lips. The male raised an eyebrow, unfazed by her mocking tone.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." He answered, averting his gaze away from the troublesome girl. Truth be told, he couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable being near the pinkette. He felt a faint blush run along the bridge of his nose as he felt her gaze sticking to him.

"So, what brings you to Konoha hospital?" Sakura inquired, innocent curiosity evident in her tone as she smiled at the male. Instead of feeling awkward, like being around Sasori for example, she felt more relaxed. His carefree nature was probably just contagious, Sakura mused.

"I was supposed to meet an old friend here." He answered simply.

"Meet an old friend? Wouldn't you meet her in a café or something?" Sakura furrowed her eyebrows together, it honestly didn't make much sense to meet someone in a hospital –unless you were visiting a patient together of course, but to merely catch up with someone...was just quite odd.

He shrugged nonchalantly "She was the one who wanted to meet, but she probably just ditched me again." Sakura wondered what sort of friend would do such a thing, _completely_ unaware of the fact that Ino was the friend he was supposed to be meeting.

"Oh...well," Sakura trailed off, her eyes momentarily flickering towards the door to check for any footsteps from the other side before looking back to the brunette. "I'm sure you'll see her soon." She reassured, smiling as she stood up from the seat to walk out the room.

"Are you a doctor here or something?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow as the pinkette turned her head over her shoulder, some stray strands falling into her face. "Yes, in fact I'm _supposed _to be working now." She sighed, brushing the strands behind her ear.

He blinked, titling his head to the side for a moment. "I see, then why exactly are you in a waiting room for?"

"I'm hiding from someone." She admitted sheepishly, a faint blush marred her cheeks as she smiled directed towards the also blushing male. He couldn't help but blush at the cute girl as he averted his eyes away from her, and coughed awkwardly into his fist.

"Well, it's was nice meeting you..." Sakura blinked in confusion, as she looked expectantly towards the faintly blushing male who was still looking in a different direction that didn't include the pinkette.

"Shikamaru." He informed, feeling the blush on his face fading away. "And you?" He returned his eyes back towards the girl, "Sakura." She smiled, her hand reached out on the door handle as she quickly took a glance out of the window of the door, there didn't seem to be any sight of Sasori.

"Why don't we go to the roof? If you're _that_ desperate to get away from him." He suggested, watching as her grip on the handle fell and looked towards him. "Uh, you _do _know that it's cold up there." Sakura deadpanned, placing her hand on her hip as she stared blankly at Shikamaru.

"Oh, scared of the cold are we?" He smirked in amusement as the pinkette visibly twitched, her jade eyes narrowed at the calm brunette.

"You're _on_! Last person up there owns the winner a grande non fat latte!" She hastily opened the door, as she _ran _towards the stairs that led to the roof. Her cheery laughter following her as thoughts of Sasori had completely slipped out of her mind, with the newly acquired desire to _beat_ that jerk, and to win the bet.

Yes, Sakura was _quite_ competitive when she wanted to be. At least, when it ever included coffee that is.

Shikamaru sighed before swiftly catching up to the pinkette; this girl was _too _troublesome for her own good, but some bizarre reason...he liked that quality about her.

"Hmm, I thought she didn't like coffee anymore." Shizune mused, mostly to herself as she picked up the ringing telephone.

* * *

"_I _won Shikamaru!"

"No, I think you would find that _I _stepped in first." He retorted, rolling his eyes at the girl.

"Uh _no_, I actually came here first and then_ you _pushed me over." She glared at the male, didn't he have _any _manners?

"Well what can I say? I like coffee." He stated bluntly, watching on in amusement as Sakura huffed while crossing her arms stubbornly across her chest. She mumbled something incoherent as she lowered her eyes to the ground, a pout settling on her face.

Shikamaru inwardly cursed as he quickly averted his eyes away from the undeniably _adorable_ girl, he could already feel the returning blush burn the bridge of his nose in protest as he kept his gaze far from the pouting girl.

"Alright Sakura, you _won_." He muttered in defeat, loudly enough for the now beaming girl as she wrapped her arms around him tightly, instantly increasing the shade of his blush as she eventually let go before happily cheering.

She probably didn't have a clue what effect she had on people, with that pout she could most likely take over the world, due to her adorableness. But thankfully, she was unaware of this fact and it was probably best it stayed that way.

"So, how about that coffee?" Shikamaru coughed into his fist, as Sakura smiled softly at the brunette. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all, she thought.

"Actually it's not just _any _old plain coffee Shika-kun! " Sakura gushed, evidently over excited as she latched her arm onto his. "It's a grande non fat latte!" She chimed happily, while dragging him along down the mountain of stairs that they had just rushed up.

Shikamaru, startled by her enthusiasm all based on a fancy cup of coffee. But nonetheless, let the pinkette mindlessly ramble on about her obviously favourite drink as she dragged him along the hospital floors towards the desired destination.

'Troublesome girl' He shook his head, he was probably going soft, but as long as it was Sakura, he didn't mind one bit.

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**A/N2: **Hey guys! This took longer to write because I simply had _no _idea what to write. Shikamaru isn't one of the characters that I mainly write about, which I probably will be doing more in this story :D So, sorry if he was OOC. I just didn't know what to do with him -_-

So, thanks guys for reviewing the last chapter! I hope you liked the chapter :)

Remember to vote for the next person on the poll and to review please! ~I'm starting school this Thursday, so updates _may _be slower than usual! Sorry!! But this year supposed to be 'important' so I have to study hard.

Thanks!

Saku-Chan :D


	4. Date 3: Sasuke

**Disclaimer: **Nope, don't own Naruto.

**A/N: **Sasuke won the poll, I honestly at first thought Madara or Gaara would've won a few days ago, but then out of nowhere Sasuke won?

Yeah, I seriously was surprised O_O

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**20 **_**Perfect **_**Dates **

**Chapter 4**

**Date 3: Sasuke**

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"Eh, I thought you said you were bad at Shogi." The sceptical brunette cocked an eyebrow, as Sakura merely shrugged in response and moved another piece on the board.

"I said I _didn't_ play, I never said I was bad." Sakura shot a smirk in his direction, as he also moved a piece. Ever since the day they met, the pair had been hanging out –whenever Sakura was off work of course, but that didn't seem to stop him from lounging in the hospital.

Sasori surprisingly hadn't contacted her in the last couple of days. She couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious about that, but pushed those troubles to the back of her mind, not wanting to earn a headache from the thoughts that included the red head.

"You're quite good, probably the best I've played in a while." He nodded thoughtfully, not noticing the light blush that spread across the pinkette's cheeks.

"Thanks, I guess." Sakura mumbled, lowering her gaze once she placed another piece in a different position on the board. A small smile crept its way onto her face, along with her slowly fading blush. She cleared her throat, momentarily distracted as she lifted her head back up, her emerald eyes clashed with his dark orbs that held an unreadable expression.

Shikamaru sighed, quickly averting his eyes away from the clearly confused girl. She had _no_ idea what she did to him, unless of course she eventually figured it out. That little shy look would drive practically any man crazy for her, not that he wanted that, he already found out that he had Sasori as competition, he didn't want this to become more troublesome than it already was.

"Checkmate." Her angelic voice broke his thoughts as he had realised that he had been absentmindedly been playing, a happy grin already curling at the corners of her lips as she laughed.

"I...lost." Shikamaru blinked, not once did he ever lose at this game –and yet, this girl he meets merely days ago had beaten him in one game. She definitely lasted longer than Ino, that was for sure, she barely even lifted a finger before giving up, saying something about it 'wasting too much energy'.

Sakura smiled softly before reaching out for his hand and squeezed it in a reassuring manner, but that didn't seem to help the flaming blush that crossed the bridge of his nose. "Don't worry Shika-kun! We have plenty of time to play this, so you can improve and maybe even beat me in the future." She winked playfully, a fake smug tone leaking in her voice as laugher escaped her lips, and soon after Shikamaru smiled and let out a small chuckle.

The idea of spending more quality time with Sakura was music to his ears, although she spent most of her time during work hours, she would usually go out for a coffee with him. Ino, unfortunately 'found out' that they were friends and couldn't have been more delighted, which again struck suspicion throughout Sakura's mind.

"How about we watch some TV?" Sakura inquired, flicking her bangs out of her eyes as she stood up from her seat, slightly loosing the feeling in her legs as she leaned against the wall to regain her balance.

"Sure." He answered, shrugging nonchalantly, as he also stood up from his seat towards the couch where Sakura was already sitting with the remote in hand.

Once they were settled in, the pinkette pressed the on button, and almost immediately the news channel sprang to life. The usual stories that were replayed on the news flashed back as Sakura was about to change the channel for the cartoons, when she saw noticed something different in the news and turned the volume up higher.

"_It has been reported that Sasuke Uchiha himself has confirmed to the public about the rumours that he will soon be engaged, many of his fans were devastated by the news as it spreads nationwide—" _

"Ugh, I hate Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura rolled her eyes, as she tapped the button, finding a different non-Sasuke related channel before leaning on Shikamaru's shoulder. "At first, I thought he was cute," Sakura admitted, closing her eyes for a minute, as the brunette's face darkened at the mention of the raven haired male who held Sakura's affections.

"But later on when I found out that he turned out to be another playboy, I... just didn't like him anymore." She confessed, pain glinted in her eyes as she opened them again, slightly adjusting her head on his shoulder.

Shikamaru relaxed when he the words 'I just didn't like him anymore' rang thorough his ears, but detected a small amount of hurt lace her words. He softly stroked her tresses, as they fell back into place, relishing the touch for the moment.

"Then I guess you've had your experiences with that kind of boys, huh?" He inquired, hoping that he hadn't gone into an unspeakable topic. Sakura let out a bitter laugh, which in turn made Shikamaru inwardly wince; maybe he shouldn't have mentioned anything.

"Yeah, you could say that." She answered, her jade orbs lingering on the screen for a moment before sighing. "But, let's not talk about that." She smiled sadly as she shyly glanced at Shikamaru from the corner of her eye, to see Shikamaru looking somewhat relieved.

"Well, whenever you want to talk about it, I'll be here." He spoke sincerely, but couldn't suppress his discomfort of the situation.

Sakura beamed at the brunette before innocently throwing her arms around his neck, her depressed mood seemed to be left forgotten as she hugged the embarrassed male, whose face blushed red.

"Aw Shika-kun! I'm so glad I have you as a friend." She mumbled into his shirt, her arms stayed clinging to his neck before gradually releasing her arms, until he surprised her by holding onto her hands. Sakura blinked in confusion before lifting her gaze towards his, the unreadable emotion flickered in his dark orbs, that seemed to create an involuntarily shiver that ran up her spine.

"Sakura, there's something that I've been meaning to tell you—"

Shikamaru was forced to pause when the door suddenly opened, revealing a freshly dressed Ino, who held a simple black dress in hand. Although he loved Ino, as a sister like figure of course, she did sometimes tend to be unbearable to be around.

"_Foreheaad!" _Ino squealed happily, seemingly unaware that she had quite _rudely _interrupted his half finished confession, as she flaunted her newly brought dress that was mostly covered by her black coat.

"What, Ino _pig_?" Sakura cocked a slender pink eyebrow, feeling slightly curious to what Shikamaru was going to say; obviously she was oblivious to his affections, she just assumed that they were friends, that were unusually close for two people that had met merely days ago.

Sakura, although a smart girl, was quite slow whenever romance was involved. Ino on the other hand, absolutely adored attention and had a high knowledge in the romance department; she would rather short term relationships than long since she would just get bored with having one boyfriend for endless months.

Ino grinned before throwing the dress towards the pinkette, who easily caught it due to her reflex skills. "Get dressed forehead, we're going out." She motioned her friend with her perfectly manicured finger towards the stairs.

"But I've already made plans with Shikamaru." Sakura retorted, cautiously settling the most likely expensive dress that the blonde had carelessly chucked at her. She inwardly knew that she would be forced to go, whether she liked it or not, Ino _always _got her way.

"Well you have to reschedule Sakura; I'm not going to let you miss out on anymore parties!" Ino whined childishly, her stern tone vanished as the word 'party' was included.

"Fine Ino." Sakura eventually broke down, not bothering to cause a pointless argument with the blonde as she quickly muttered a sorry to the silent Shikamaru before rushing out of the room to get upstairs, leaving behind a confused brunette and a bubbly Ino.

"I'm guessing you'll be taking Sakura to Uchiha's party, right Ino?" He immediately questioned once the pinkette was out of sight, he leaned against his fist as he narrowed his eyes at the blonde, who had already snapped up her pink phone.

"Yeah." She answered absentmindedly, as she flickered through lists of numbers until finally finding the wanted person as she pressed the call button. She waited for a moment before speaking.

"Oh good, you finally answer your phone Sasuke." Ino's sickly sweet voice rang through the phone, irritating both her friend and the male on the phone.

"What do you want _now _Ino? You've already bugged me this week." His blunt tone leaking in his voice as he spoke, but that didn't seem to affect the blonde as she brushed her honey dyed bangs out of her eyes.

"Listen Sasuke dear, I'm going to bringing a friend to the party and she _might _be able to help you with your situation." She offered casually, a knowing smirk settled itself on her face.

"Sigh, who's this girl then?"

Ino giggled, annoying the male further. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that Sasuke, you'll just have to find out yourself." She chimed happily, ignoring the protests of the male as she hung up.

"You _do _realise that Sakura's going to freak out when she meets him." Shikamaru shook his head at Ino's antics, as the blonde merely smiled innocently at him. "What Shika-kun? You have feelings for her now?" She teased lightly, as she checked her reflection in a nearby mirror and was glad to see that she looked as perfect as ever.

When she didn't receive a response, Ino instantly glanced towards the quiet brunette. "Uh, don't tell me you love her too?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Tch, I wouldn't say love, but...I think I'm starting to." He finally answered, feeling a little hesitant about speaking his mind as he rubbed his temples, feeling a headache slowly forming.

Ino sighed as she walked over to her friend; she leaned closer towards his ear. "Well, if you're serious about her then, I suggest that you win her over soon." She advised, lifting back up to see a surprised expression lingering on his face. "Unless you want her to fall for Sasuke or Sasori of course." She deliberately averted her eyes as she place her fingers on her chin thoughtfully.

"No!" He suddenly stood up, feeling slightly confused by his actions he awkwardly cleared his throat as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, uh...no?"

"Don't worry Shika-kun; you'll probably win her over in the end." Ino smiled encouragingly, winking playfully.

Shikamaru returned the smile, his mood brightening as thoughts of Sakura entered.

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"_Ino_, this dress is too small."

"Sakura, you look _fine_." Ino rolled her eyes, her gaze fixed on the window where they passed countless streets, as she attempted to ignore Sakura's further protests about her dress being too small.

"But _Ino_, why couldn't I wear one of myown dresses?" Sakura huffed, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly.

Ino sighed before turning towards the pinkette, "Sakura, you don't own any dresses." She arched a slender honey blonde eyebrow.

"...I don't like dresses." Sakura stated averting her eyes away from Ino, earning a chuckle as the blonde merely patted her neatly done hair.

"Well, you look nice in dresses Sakura." Ino smiled, as the driver informed her that they will soon be arriving at the party. She nodded before looking back to the annoyed girl, who blew stray strands of her hair that fell out of her clip.

"Don't be like that Forehead, we're almost there—"

"Why is this party so important anyway?" Sakura cut her off, her emerald orbs clashed with hers as she raised an eyebrow. Ino inwardly cursed as she quickly thought of a good enough excuse.

"I didn't have anyone else to go with, so I picked you."

"Oh really? I'm touched that you decided to pick me out of all the other models you could have chosen." Sakura deadpanned, fed up with the strands falling over her eyes, she brushed them back behind her ear.

"It's alright Sakura!" Ino beamed happily, not aware of the fact that she was being sarcastic as the car just pulled up in front of the building where loud music was playing.

Sakura stared blankly for a moment before looking towards the excited blonde. "Ino, you can't be serious. The party's _here_?" She blinked, the building looked like a place where Ino would normally work in, and that's a _big _building.

"Well _duh_, where else would you think it would be?" Ino smiled at the driver, who opened the door for her as she gracefully stepped out, Sakura following behind as she thanked the driver. Paparazzi were swarming around the place, where they were held back by a couple dozen security men pushing them back, away as guests entered the building.

She lifted a hand to cover her eyes as the artificial lights were aimlessly casted all around the room, once the entered the place, she felt her eardrums about to bust from the _extremely _loud music. There was a throng of bodies on the dance floor, the lights casted downward on them.

"I'll go get some drinks Sakura." Ino shouted over the music before blending into the crowds, leaving behind a protesting pinkette, who sighed as she leaned against a nearby wall. The blinding lights flashed over her for a moment before flowing over other people, Sakura boredly played with the hem of the black bow that was attached to the strapless dress around her waist. The dark fabric was layered as it flowed over each other until it stopped at her knees.

She felt a presence beside her, thinking it was Ino she lifted her head to face familiar cinnamon coloured orbs.

"Sakura?" He blinked, titling his head to the side, his red hair moving along. He stared at the pinkette for a moment before a smirk settled on his face.

'Uh...damn' Sakura thought, looking to the side for any sight of Ino, she cursed her bad luck. This just _had _to happen to her.

"Sasori, it's been a while." Sakura nodded, quickly composing herself as she smiled nicely at the male, who seemed to be preoccupied by something else.

"Yes, it's been too long." He sighed, reaching out to touch her stray stands absentmindedly. Not noticing that Sakura grew stiff as he smiled softy at her.

"Uh, yeah...well, it's nice seeing you but I have to go now." Sakura excused herself before walking away, until she felt a something holding her back before she found herself being hugged by the usually emotionless red head.

"I've missed you Sakura." He mumbled, nuzzling deeper within her tresses as he tightened his grip around his waist, before eventually pulling away and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead.

Sakura couldn't help but feeling slightly enchanted by his kindness but quickly shook it off as she pushed him away. "Sasori—"

"Shh," He whispered, gently stroking her cheek. "I've been away from you for a too long, Sakura."

"Uh, yeah..." Sakura nodded dumbly, leaning closer towards his hand as he smiled. "Sakura, will you come live with me?" He inquired; seemingly unaware of the fact that he was taking advantage of her being enchanted by him.

"Yeah..." She mumbled, before realising what she had just agreed to. "Wait! I mean no!" She said hastily, as she pushed away from him and into the crowds, quickly mixing along with the groups of people. She could vaguely hear his shouts over the deafening music as she easily slipped through the room and out the door.

She sighed in relief as she leaned against the cold brick wall, and ran a hand through her hair. She closed her eyes for a moment, in a poor attempt for the banging headache to flow away."Stupid Sasori." She muttered under her breath.

"I take it you're not enjoying the party?"

Quickly snapping her eyes open, she glanced over to the side where a dark raven haired male was standing; his face was hidden by the hoodie.

"You could say that." Sakura replied, sighing as she rubbed her arms, the cold was probably getting to her. She would've been able to grab a coat if it wasn't for that damned Ino, who insisted that it wasn't supposed to be that cold tonight.

"What about you?" She inquired, sniffing as she leaned her head back against the wall.

"Tch, honestly I hate parties." He answered, shrugging nonchalantly as he stared at the unusually hair coloured girl who seemed to be cold, most probably forgot to bring along a coat with her.

Sakura chuckled "Yeah, me too." She agreed puffing out a breath as the warm air left her mouth. The moon illuminated the darkened sky as the stars were spread all around, instantly capturing her attention as she stared in wonder. She suddenly was brought back to reality when she felt something being draped over her shoulders, the pinkette looked over as the raven haired male was left with a navy shirt, with his hands stuffed within the depths of his pockets.

"Oh, you didn't have to give me this—"Sakura protested, as she started to unzip the clothing to give it back to the stranger.

"Its fine, besides you seemed cold." He said simply, not leaving any room for further argument. Sakura smiled shyly as she nodded in thanks, before returning her gaze back towards the sky where the stars were sparkling freely.

The male watched with interest as the girl looked on in sheer wonder, he sighed dejectedly, he was supposed to meet the girl that Ino was talking about. But she already knew that he hated being at parties when he had his own troubles to worry about.

Sakura felt her pocket vibrate as she quickly fished through them to find her phone, once she had retrieved it she found that she had gotten a few messages from Ino, no surprise there, but also _Sasori? _Oh yeah, he had somehow gotten her number, Sakura rolled her eyes at his affections for her.

"Listen, I have to go, my friend just texted me and—" She stopped talking when she took a closer look at the stranger, only to find it was _Sasuke Uchiha_, the male who had obliviously obtained her affections years ago, that is until she had discovered that he was just another playboy.

"Y-You're Sasuke..." She blinked; stepping back as she quickly shrugged out of the coat and threw in towards the startled male.

"Don't tell me, you're a fan?" He cocked an eyebrow as Sakura looked disgusted as she merely slapped him in response. He staggered backwards for a moment, his hand slowly reaching to his cheek where she had just slapped him.

"Heh, yeah _right_. Not every girl is your fan, _Uchiha_." She harshly spat out his name before pivoting on her foot to walk back inside to find Ino.

Finding her wasn't the problem; the real problem was to avoid Sasori at all costs. But obviously, it wasn't going to work out like that, once she spotted the blonde flirting shamelessly with some men, she instantly grabbed her away as she leaded them both towards the door.

"_Sakura dear?_ What's wrong, what's with the hurry?" She slurred, she must have had one too many drinks, as the pinkette could sense the bitter alcohol smell as it burned her nose.

"No time to explain Ino, we just have to go _now_." Sakura quickly opened the door, as the flashes of the cameras blinded her for a moment as she lifted a hand to avoid the lights. Ino on the other hand smiled drunkenly and waved.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she searched for any free taxies, but there didn't seem to be any as she heard faint calls that were directed towards her.

Suddenly, she felt Ino slip from her grasp and was held possessively from behind. The paparazzi quickly took photos of them, as the stranger bend down to her ear and whispered "Sakura, you thought you could escape me?"

'_Sasori_' she thought, as she struggled to escape his firm grasp. "Sasori, _let go of me now_." She hissed venomously, as she pushed away from the persistent male.

But just when she thought things couldn't get worse, they _did_.

"Sasori, let go of my _fiancé_."

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**A/N2: **Hey guys! I probably would've been able to post this sooner if it wasn't for my headache -_- So did you guys like the chapter? I know this chapter isn't as long but I haven't had much time lately with all the homework and all.

Vote please ~on my profile! I'll probably try working on it next week? Depends on my work doesn't it? Is it just me, or is it strange that so far every male that Sakura's met in this story begins with 'S'? It would be funny if Sai won or something O_O

Please review!

Saku-chan


	5. Date 4: Gaara

**Disclaimer:** Psh, no.

**A/N:** I'm back! ~with a new update :D I haven't had much time on the computer lately -_- Stupid homework...So _anyway_, Gaara won, which is cool right? Unless you didn't want him to win, then it's not so cool.

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20 _Perfect _Dates

Chapter 5

Date 4: Gaara

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The pinkette groaned as she collapsed gracelessly onto the couch, rubbing her temples in attempt to push away the slowly forming headache. That damn Uchiha had the nerve to call her his 'fiancé', she was just on the verge of slapping him silly if it wasn't for the paparazzi crowding around her to squeeze out any gossip about their so called _relationship_.

"Why do these things happen to me?" Sakura moaned, stuffing her face into the pillow, sighing in defeat as she shut her eyes.

"Ugh, you're telling me. I can already feel the hangover." Ino stumbled clumsily into the room, while holding a glass of water in one hand and a paracetamol pill in the other. She eventually made it over to the sofa, as she handled over another pill towards the tried pinkette, who gladly accepted it before popping it into her mouth with a few generous gulps of water.

"Well that's what you get for drinking too much." Sakura rolled her eyes as she layed back into the couch, feeling the medicine slowly taking its toll.

"Tch, I can't help it forehead. You _know _what I'm like with free drinks." Ino stated as if it was clearly obvious before she threw in the tablet into her mouth with a few drops of water.

"Ino, there is something called _self restrain_." Sakura spoke slowly, emphasizing the last two words as if she was talking to a small child.

"_Forehead! _Why are you being so mean to me?" Ino whined childishly, a cute pout settling on her face. But she soon got over it as she reached for the remote, while ignoring the blank faced pinkette sitting next to her. Sakura merely rolled her eyes at her friends' constant mood swings, as the blonde boredly flickered through channel after channel, when she heard a familiar ringtone chiming in the air. She quickly fished through the depths of her purse before retrieving her black slim phone and pressed the answer button.

"Hello?" Sakura greeted, easily slipping the phone beside her ear, despite the fact that she could still feel the pounding effects of the loud music that she heard simply hours before.

"_Sakura, look I have been meaning to talk to you_—"

"_Uchiha_, you have some nerve calling me." Sakura hissed, narrowing her jade eyes as she lowered her voice so her friend wouldn't hear the conversation. She felt an urge to end this pointless phone call; she didn't want to be forced to hear half-hearted apologizes that he probably didn't even mean.

"_I know...I'm truly sorry Sakura but listen for a minute...please_?" He seemed to struggle uttering the last world, as he pleaded to the reluctant pinkette.

Sakura subconsciously nibbled her lower lip as she pondered on whether or not to hear him out. One part of her mind thought absolutely _yes_ while inwardly squealing happily about actually talking to _the _Sasuke Uchiha. But then on the other side, it had the opposite feeling. Why should she listen to somebody who would probably forget all about her after a couple of days? He had already crushed her feelings before and can easily do so again.

"...fine Uchiha, you have five minutes." Sakura gave in, motioning to Ino – who was starting to stare at her curiously – that she'll be right back, before standing up to step out of the room and into the hallway.

"_Alright Sakura, this may seem bad but I'll sort everything out_." Sasuke stated sincerely, as his silky voice almost captivating her in an instant.

She quickly cleared her throat in embarrassment, a faint blush crossed at the bridge of her nose. "What's the catch?" Sakura inquired, not fully trusting that he would take back his words for _nothing_. There must be something that he wanted in return.

He sighed in defeat, "_All I'm asking for is that you will stay my pretend 'fiancé' for a few weeks for so, then you can end the 'relationship'._"

Sakura scoffed in disbelief, was he seriously _that _stupid? Did he actually think that she would agree to something like that? Especially when she knew that Sasori wouldn't obviously let some guy take away what's '_his_'.

"Sasuke, give me one good damn reason why I should help you." Sakura deadpanned, blowing some stray strands out of her eyes in annoyance.

"_I can't explain all the details right now but_—"

He was abruptly cut off by what it seemed fan girlish squeals in the background. She could hear him mutter something along the lines of 'stalker fan girls'.

"Kya! It's Sasuke-sama!"

"Don't marry that pink haired bitch! I'm _much _better than her!"

"Noooo! I'm _way _better for you Sasuke-sama!"

"_...Uh, I gotta go, I'll call you tomorrow."_ He hastily shouted before hanging up. Most likely going to hide away from all his crazy fan girls, although she completely hated his guts, she couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for him. Even one fan boy would drive her crazy, not mentioning any names of course..._Sasori_.

Sakura started blankly at her phone, with only one thought that came to mind. – How _did_ he get her number in the first place? Well, he _was _rich so it didn't really surprise her much. The time _12:04 _blinked lazily at her, they had only arrived around eleven due to the large swarms of paparazzi _and _also because there weren't any free taxies at the time.

The pinkette shrugged it off, a tired yawn escaping her lips. What has she gotta herself into this time? It was already bad enough that Sasori found out about her and Sasuke's so called 'engagement' He had refused to left her go when Sasuke reached out for her and held her quite possessively. He even mumbled something about 'being a perfect fit in his arms'.

The returning thoughts of the red head instantly formed a rosy blush that spread across the bridge of her nose. Seemingly he only had these effects on her, but she wasn't going to tell him about that anytime soon. It wouldn't exactly be fair if he had that slight advantage against her, especially when she _didn't_ like him all that much.

'Stupid Sasori' she thought grumpily, shaking away the pestering thoughts as she walked back into the room, where Ino was sprawled on the couch and had already fallen asleep, with the remote still held firmly in her loosening grasp.

Her last selected channel just had to be the news channel, where the current headlines of the incident that happened merely hours ago were already plastered all over the news.

Sakura rubbed her temples as they started to replay what they had managed to capture on camera, she could already sense the presence of raging fan girls near her home. Well, that's going to make it harder to sleep without constantly looking over your shoulder in case of a jealous consumed fan girl.

It seemed only things like these usually happened to her, a normal pink haired girl...okay, that's not exactly _normal_ but the point is that what were the odds of her encountering _both _Sasori and Sasuke in the same night? Well, Sasori did seem like a stalker type of person but she wasn't so sure about Sasuke. It was bad enough that they were known as a couple; she didn't want to have to be around him just when _he_ says so.

For Sasuke, it probably didn't matter to him if she received unwanted publicity. After all, she was nothing but a rich basterd who didn't give a damn about anything, until it involved getting what he wanted.

Luckily enough, they didn't know her name, as of yet. But it obviously wouldn't be _that _hard to find a pink haired girl. Especially when there are mostly brunettes and blondes haired girls, it clearly wasn't common for pink hair. Sakura would imagine that any major gossip magazine must have covered this already, seeing as it wasn't everyday that _two _rich men were witnessed fighting over a mere _poor _girl.

Sakura sighed dejectedly, before picking up a nearby blanket and carefully settled it on top of Ino's sleepy figure. She clicked the off button of the remote as darkness quickly swallowed any sign of light, leaving the pinkette's vision slightly blurred. She smiled softly at her friend before heading off to her own bed to sleep. Not giving Sasuke or Sasori another second thought.

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Sakura's lips curled at the corners of her mouth as she leaned in closer into her pillow, seemingly having a nice, non-guy related dream. Muffled incoherent words spilled out every few seconds, unaware of the fact that her alarm clock hadn't bothered to do its job and wake her up for work.

After a few more minutes had passed, it was only then that she managed to break through her deep sleep. She could've sworn that she felt something vibrating in her pyjama bottoms; she quickly retrieved her phone as she swept a hand through her bed hair and answered the phone, still very much asleep.

"Hello?"

"_Sakura! Where the hell are you? Your shift started ten minutes ago!" _Tsunade bellowed into the phone, instantly waking up the pinkette, who sprang out of bed and grabbed her work clothes before throwing them in her haste, with Tsunade waiting patiently on the phone.

"I'm sorry Tsunade-san, I just woke up late. I'll be there as soon as I can." She reassured the short tempered woman who reluctantly agreed before hanging up, leaving the stressed woman quickly straightening her clothes before hurrying downstairs, remembering to grab her bag as she left the house.

She quickly scanned through the piles of text messages and unanswered calls, which were mostly from Sasori – no surprise there, but also a couple from Sasuke as well. Maybe it was time for her to change her number? As she had received over a dozen text messages from Sasori, who kept texting her that he _loved _her and she should be marrying _him _and not Sasuke.

Honestly, she didn't want to marry anyone. She didn't mind the life of being single, as long as she didn't have to deal with a ridiculously rich man who absolutely _adored_ her. It was too much of a hassle to deal with if you ask her.

She sighed as she mixed in with the morning crowds that rushed to work, it wasn't really busy today, the traffic was pushed to a minimum as the cars were able to drive swiftly as the colours all rushed together, creating a small blur in the corner of her eye.

Momentarily distracted, she kept a firm stare on her phone as she quickly texted to Ino. Who wasn't even _in_ the house when she was rushing, she wanted to know why she didn't bother waiting her up – she already knew what Tsunade's tempers were like in the morning, yet she didn't give it a second thought about waking her up.

"Stupid Ino." She muttered darkly under her breath, as she sent the message. But the moment she lifted her head back up, she bumped into someone, which caused her phone to slip out of her grasp as it clashed with the hard gravel – she inwardly hoped that it didn't cause _too_ much damage.

"Aww, dammit...I'm sorry." She quickly bowed as she noticed that there were two fallen phones but picked up the one that she thought must have been hers. Once she straightened herself, she felt something tickling her forehead and found that it was _red _hair.

She instantly thought of the _other _possible red head she could have bumped into and quickly passed the surprised male to get away from who she assumed was Sasori and towards the hospital, where she wishfully hoped that it wasn't going to be crowded with paparazzi.

The male on the other hand picked up the slightly damaged phone; he blinked in confusion as he mumbled, "This isn't my phone..."

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Thankfully, there weren't any paparazzi lurking around the entrance of the hospital and instead it was quiet when she arrived. What she assumed was _her _phone in hand as she entered the cool air conditioned hallways of the hospital.

Shizune handed her assisted patients for the day, along with a nice warm cup of coffee with her usual warm smile. Which Sakura returned gladly as she stepped into her office, the growing forest in the room shrunk slightly but there were still flowers curling all around the room.

She sighed as she dropped both the papers and her phone onto her well organised desk when she heard an unfamiliar ringtone chiming in the air, as she looked towards the phone. She reached out cautiously before clicking the answer button.

"Uh, hello?"

"Oh Gaara! I wanted to tell you about the girl you're going to meet later... hey wait your _not_ Gaara!"

"Ino?" Sakura furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion, so this phone belonged to someone named Gaara? That would explain the horrible ringtone it came along with, but it _didn't _explain why Ino would be calling him about a date with a girl – unless she started messing around with other people's lives _again_.

"Uh...sorry wrong number bye!" She squeaked out before hanging up, leaving a somewhat annoyed by Ino as she was obviously hiding _something_.

Sakura shrugged it off for the time being, as she had to get on with her work. Which just included sorting out documents, patients' files and drinking _lots _of coffee to keep her awake. She spent most of the morning doing all the paperwork while seeing to some patients for their weekly check up.

Once her morning shift had finished, she knew that Ino would avoid her at all costs to prevent her from finding out what she was up to. So, instead of prying into her friend's business, she brought it upon herself to return the phone to Gaara and to get hers back...at least she _hoped _that she would get her phone back.

She decided to take a quick look in the shops, as she was suppose to go shopping for food a while ago. Ino had thought that she had the liberty to eat _all _of the cookie dough ice cream, along with most of the food in her fridge, sometimes she wondered _why _she let Ino stay at her house instead of staying at her own luxury apartment.

After a ten minute walk to the local supermarket, the automatic doors swishing opening as the pinkette relished the warmth of the shop, unlike the bitter coldness of the air outside. She loosened her scarf around her neck as she picked up a nearby carrier basket and started to pick up the food she needed to refill the fridge.

"Hmm, where _are _the strawberries?" Sakura mused to herself, feeling a craving for the sweet tasting fruit as she began searching through the fruit and vegetable aisle. She felt the hairs on her arms stand up when a sudden presence behind her, she inwardly crossed her fingers that it wasn't Sasori.

The male reached out a hand on the right side of Sakura before pulling out a well hidden box of strawberries and handing it towards the pinkette as he leaned closer to her ear, creating involuntary shivers that started to run up her spine in protest.

"Here you go, Sakura." He whispered huskily, a small smirk curling on his lips as he leaned back. Instantly alerting Sakura as she pivoted on her heel to face no one other than _Sasuke_, who was disguised himself a black woolly hat that covered most of his back hair that left him only with his bangs framing his face almost gracefully, he hadn't bothered using sunglasses, as it would have _definitely_ looked suspicious as it wasn't exactly sunny outside.

"_Sasuke_, what are you doing here?" Sakura hissed, lowering her voice just in case there were any bystanders around them. Her day wasn't half bad until _he _had to show up; she wasn't really in the mood to discuss their 'engagement' plans.

"What, is it wrong to see my fiancé?" He cocked an eyebrow, having the nerve to look _innocent_ as she glared at him, making her look like the bad guy in the situation. She wasn't going to let him force her into a relationship, whether it was fake or not.

"I'm not your _fiancé_, Sasuke. I never agreed to it." Sakura argued as she rolled her eyes as she swiftly passed him to collect the remaining items of her shopping list. Anything to get away from speaking to _him_.

"C'mon Sakura, it's _only _for a couple of weeks." His silky voice drawled, almost attracting her attention as she grabbed some chocolate biscuits and dropped it into the basket. She could hear the loud _click _of his expensive shoes following closely behind her; didn't he have something better to do than stalk an uninterested girl? With a simple flick of his fingers, he could get _any _girl he wanted, she wasn't particularly beautiful like Ino was, so why was he following her like a lost puppy?

"_Please_ Sakura?" His hot breath hovered over her neck, startling the pinkette out of her thoughts as she felt his arms snake around her waist and was suddenly pulled back, the contents of her baskets dropped carelessly onto the floor.

"S-Sasuke." She stuttered; feeling a lot uncomfortable than she should be as she flushed with embarrassment as people started to stare at them, while most of the girls glared in jealously.

"Hmm?" He mumbled, smirking slightly as he nuzzled into her pink tresses. He couldn't suppress the feral growl that escaped from his mouth as her intoxicating smell seduced his senses instantly.

"Let go, people are starting to _stare_." Sakura whispered, pushing away the persistent male as she gathered her forgotten items and hurried towards the check out counter. Sasuke, who had just come to his senses held a love sick grin on his face as he continued to follow the pinkette.

Sakura poured the contents of the basket out as they slid slowly towards the check out lady, who smiled friendly as she carefully arranged the food in a plastic bag. While Sasuke waited patiently beside her, trying not to stand out _too _much. But then again, it probably wasn't easy trying to fit in when you're standing right next to a _pink _haired girl. She thanked the check out girl, who in return smiled as she continued her job routine with the next customer.

She adjusted the bag in her hands as she tightened her scarf around her neck as she left the warm air conditioned building into the cold, bitter afternoon air. Sakura let out a breath as white smoke escaped her lips; she nibbled her lip as she felt the wintry air brush against her, making her feel colder than she already felt. They walked in silent for a few minutes, before the quiet moment was broken when the pinkette sniffed, she inwardly sighed already knowing that she was going to get a cold later on due to her lack of thick clothing.

And, as if Sasuke could read minds, he simply shrugged out of his own coat before settling it on her shoulders. Earning a small blush that lingered on her pale cheeks as they stayed silent for the rest of the walk, the pinkette felt a smile twitching at the corners of her lips. Maybe he wasn't _that _bad after all? He could be quite a gentleman when he wants to be.

Hearing the ringtone from the phone she had mistaken for her own, she fished it out of her purse before identifying the caller, which was actually _her _phone number calling. Cautiously, she answered it before slipping it beside her ear, ignoring Sasuke inquiring stare as she waited for this 'Gaara' person to speak.

"Hello, is this Sakura Haruno?"

"Yeah, about the phone switch. I'm sorry about that, but I was in a hurry this morning." She rushed out, hoping that he wasn't the type to get worked up over something like this, although this _was_ technically her fault. But if Ino had bothered waking her up this morning, then _maybe _this would not have happened. But, much to her surprise, instead of acting like her expectations – he _laughed_.

As if it was completely _natural _for this to just happen one day, but although she wouldn't admit it out loud, he _did _have a nice laugh. Not that she was going to be all fan girlish over him after one day of course.

"No, its fine Sakura. Why don't we meet up, you know to switch phones?" He offered nonchalantly, his calm tone creating a small smile on her face. "Yeah, sure. How about the hospital?" She pondered for a moment, it would be better than to meet at a coffee place. As it was only an early afternoon, where most people would probably be on their breaks by now and the hospital shouldn't be _that _crowded on a Tuesday anyway.

"Alright, I was actually on my way there."

"Oh? Are you ill or something, because I am a doctor—"Sakura rushed out, concern evident in her tone.

"No, I'm fine Sakura. I was just supposed to meet someone there." He reassured the slightly anxious pinkette. Feeling inwardly surprised by her concern.

"Okay then, I'll meet you there—"

Sasuke couldn't take it anymore as he _rudely _snatched the phone off his _future _wife, before placing it beside his ear ignoring her protests as jealousy was practically emitting from him that Sakura seemed to prefer speaking to a _complete _stranger than speaking to _him_ –Sasuke Uchiha aka, her future husband.

"Who are you and why are you talking to _my _fiancé." He narrowed his onyx eyes dangerously, wrapping a possessive arm around the oblivious pinkette's waist, who struggled against his firm grip as she blew her bangs out of her eyes in annoyance.

"Sasuke? What are you doing there?" Gaara inquired amusement evident in his tone.

"I'm with my fiancé." He answered simply, as Sakura continued to protest loudly in the background, denying the fact that they were apparently 'engaged' which she _didn't_ even agree to.

"Oh? Is that _why _youblew off the meeting this morning?"

"...yes." He admitted, that was _mostly _true, but he didn't feel like getting up in the morning just to have a hour long meeting over a pointless topic that can be settled in less than ten minutes. He didn't like talking to what he thought was a 'love rival' for _his _Sakura. Despite the fact that he hadn't spend that much time with her, as they did have a limited time meeting last night. She was just _too _adorable to resist.

"Yeah, as much as I like being cold and all but I _do _have to return the phone." Sakura said sarcastically before grabbing the phone back as she resumed walking towards the hospital, with Sasuke reluctantly trailed after the determinate pinkette.

"Hey, how about going to dinner after the hospital?–"

"No." Sakura replied, not really bothering to care if his ego was had slightly deflated as she continued her momentarily interrupted conversation with Gaara. He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly like a child while following the pinkette.

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"He isn't here yet, can we go now?" Sasuke inquired, tapping his fingers boredly against the front desk counter. Feeling slightly impatient, that damn red head hadn't bothered to show up in the past ten minutes, they could have been at a five star restaurant is it wasn't for _him_.

"_Sasuke_, if you want to go, then go." Sakura sighed, briefly checking the time before averting her attention towards door while subconsciously chewed on her lower lip nervously. His phone clutched in her hand as she waited patiently, _unlike _somebody, not mentioning any names of course..._Sasuke_.

"But we haven't had dinner yet, Sakura." He smiled softly at the pinkette, who instantly turned her head away, trying to conceal her growing blush as the front door opened, revealing a tall, lean red head with mesmerizing jade eyes.

"Sakura Haruno, I presume?" He inquired; a small smile lingering on his face, surprising her when he lifted her hand towards his mouth before lightly brushing her hand against his lips as he stared intensely at her before he gently released her hand, the pinkette couldn't help but feel déjà vu all over again. Although this had already happened to her, she was instantly captivated by his gentleman like manners, unlike Sasuke who simply scoffed at Sakura's naivety.

What she didn't know about Gaara was that he secretly had a reputation of being a playboy, but instead of being open about it – like _he _used to be, that is until he met Sakura of course – he would easily charm girls into thinking that he was _nice_, sweet guy when really, he was the exact opposite.

"H-Here's the phone." Sakura squeaked out meekly, handing over the black identical phone that was looked _exactly_ like hers. Although he seemed like a nice guy, she couldn't suppress that weird feeling in her gut, the same kind that she felt when she found out that she was actually talking to _Sasuke_ last night.

"Oh, I was hoping that you could join me for dinner." He offered hopefully, a small smile curled on his face. Already knowing the answer, assuming that she would _obviously _say yes, they always did.

"Uh," Sakura glanced nervously at Sasuke, not really wanting to reject him harshly. It wasn't that she didn't like him or anything, it just felt a _little_ bit awkward with being around him, she couldn't explain it but something just didn't feel right about Gaara. Sasuke caught on as Sakura silently pleaded to him to help her out. He inwardly smiled; this was probably one of the best choices that he made about choosing her as his future wife, she _definitely _wasn't dense when it came to cunning people that was for sure.

"We've already make plans." Sasuke cut in, wrapping an arm around her waist, despite the slight twitch that Sakura struggled to restrain. Gaara blinked, feeling somewhat surprised that she had just rejected _him_, to go out with an _Uchiha_ than him. A male with a nice, friendly personality instead of openly acting like an arrogant playboy.

"I see, well I guess I'll be leaving then." He accepted his phone back before carelessly stuffing it into his pocket as he pulled out her phone and handed it over, which she hesitatingly accepted, before he exchanged a brief nod with Sasuke. He retreated towards the door, Sasuke relaxed slightly as Sakura felt a little but guilty. She sighed; she was _probably _going to regret this but...

"Gaara, would you like to join us?" She winced visibly as she heard Sasuke quietly mutter something about being 'too soft'. It wasn't really _her _fault if she was just naturally nice, besides he wasn't nice so he probably wouldn't understand. The red head instantly brightened up as he seized Sakura's free hand before pulling her along side him.

"Great! I know the perfect place." He stated cheerfully, carefully sealing away his dismay that Sasuke had to tag along as well, the saying 'three is a crowd' _definitely _applied here. Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance, in attempt to hold back a retort to the overly eager red head. He knew exactly what the 'perfect' place was; Gaara would usually bring his other

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"..._This _is your family restaurant?" Sakura stared in sheer awe at the massive luxurious building. She had heard about this place, it was supposedly a five star restaurant where only the richest and famous of people eat at.

"Yeah, my brother's a good chef, so he decided to have a restaurant of his own." He shrugged nonchalantly as he exited the taxi as he held it out for the pinkette, who smiled graciously as she easily slipped out of the yellow car. Unintentionally leaving Sasuke to pay for the tab as she walked side by side with Gaara, slightly adjusting her grocery bag in her hands, which Gaara took note of as he motioned for a nearby worker and handed the bag over, mentioning to him to sent it to Sakura's house before glancing back to the pinkette.

"That's amazing that your brother was able to make such a successful food business," Sakura said in admiration, still wondering in awe at the building, it looked like beautiful on the outside, it probably looked even better inside, and _she _was actually going to see it! "So, does your sister also manage the kitchen?" She inquired, bringing up his sister from one of their conversations, feeling slightly interested as she smiled at Gaara. The said male felt a small blush marred his face in reaction to a mere smile from the pinkette, a feeling that he hadn't felt with all the other girls, who probably just liked him for his money. He couldn't help but feel slightly more attracted to Sasuke's apparent 'fiancé'.

"No, Temari had never really been good at cooking; she literally burnt _everything _she had ever attempted." He sighed; the memories of all the burned dishes wandered their way into his mind, the _worst _part of it all was when she tried making him _but_ mostly Kankuro taste it, just to see if she had improved. Sakura chuckled, startling the red head out of his thoughts. She had a melodic laugh, something that he _definitely _liked about her.

"Same with my dad, he could _never _cook either." She smiled, thanking the doorman as she entered the warm, luxurious lobby. She stared in amazement as Gaara escorted her towards the main room, where she could already smell mouth watering foods flowing through the room and sighed blissfully. Far behind them, Sasuke rushed as he threw some money notes at the driver and hurried into the restaurant. You could practically feel the jealously and anger radiating from his body as he stalked towards the smiling couple.

"This is a lovely restaurant Gaara—"Sasuke cut her off as he possessively seized Sakura's hand, pulling the pinkette away as she bumped into his chest. He happily nuzzled into her tresses, while Gaara narrowed his eyes as Sakura was being violated right in _front _of him. That damn Uchiha had to act childish when he rudely snatched away Sakura, who eagerly hugged the blank faced pinkette, she sighed dejectively, already feeling used to all the _possessiveness_ by now.

"_Gaara! _Have you come to visit your darling sister?"

Sasuke reluctantly released Sakura as Temari walked across the room towards them, a big smile adoring her face as she hugged her impassive brother, who awkwardly patted her on the back.

"Oh? You've brought over guests?" She gushed enthusiastically, looking over Gaara's new 'friends'. Sakura hesitated before smiling as she shyly waved, while Sasuke returned back to his usual 'emo' mode and replied with an 'Hn'.

"Yes, this is my _date_ Sakura...and her friend Sasuke." He gestured towards the pinkette, which Temari seemed to approve of before reluctantly introduced the sulking black haired male, who stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest. Gaara inwardly smirked as he casually threw an arm over her shoulders, a mischievous glint flashed in his eye as he noticed that Sasuke was averting his anger by clenching his fists tightly.

Temari squealed happily as she ushered them to a table, feeling happy that Gaara was finally experiencing a stable relationship instead of having meaningless flings. She gestured them to get settled before heading off to find some menus _and _to tell Kankuro all about their baby brother having a _sensible_ girlfriend for a change.

Sakura took the opportunity to have a look around the restaurant, seemingly oblivious to that fact that their table had attracted unwanted attention from nearby tables; the ladies stared in envy at the pinkette who had received _both _Sasuke Uchiha's and Gaara Sabaku's attention. _Her_, a mere poor girl amongst the rich, it didn't make much sense to them.

"See Kankuro! I _told _you she was adorable!" The said girl raised her head in question as Gaara's sister returned, along with a brunette male beside her. Sakura flushed with embarrassment as she quickly bowed her head, gladly accepting the menu as she skimmed through, feeling slightly dazed by the high variety of foods but mostly because of the _ridiculously _high prices. How could people actually afford this?

"Sakura sweetie, I just wanted to let you know that I would be happy if you ever become my sister in law." Temari stated happily, sending a quick wink to the blushing pinkette as Kankuro let out a chuckle. Temari was right after all, she was undeniably _adorable_, he would definitely approve of her being with his brother, she seemed to really suit him, after all the one off relationships.

Sakura inwardly sighed, keeping a firm gaze on her purse as she picked up her vibrating phone, probably just another text from Sasori, knowing the stalker he was, he had probably already arrived here. She quickly flickered through text messages, unaware of the curious stares she was receiving before finding that latest message.

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It read:

**7:24**

**From: Ino-Pig **

Forehead! Why haven't you been answering your phone??

I have been worrying sick! I could not even enjoy my spa time thanks to you!

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that Sasori's been ringing me nonstop just to find out where you are, because you obviously haven't been answering his calls either!

Honestly, I don't blame you. He _can _get seriously annoying sometimes.

Oh! And remember its takeout night; I was thinking Chinese or maybe Indian?

Love ya!

Ino x

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Sakura sighed, leave it to Ino to be lazy enough to ask her to pick up the takeout – she could just _call _a damn takeout herself and get it over with. She already had to get the groceries, Ino could at least help her with _one _little thing. She clicked the reply button as she quickly texted back a _strongly _worded message, when the main doors slammed open with a loud _bang_, instantly sending an echo all around the room.

Gaara and Sasuke immediately stood up in alert as the intruder stalked towards their table, intend on finding a _certain _girl, who was currently occupied by texting back Ino before the blonde kept sending her dozens of texts every few minutes. Temari and Kankuro decided it was probably best to stay _far _away from the table as they hurried off towards the kitchen.

"Is _this _where you've been hiding _my _Sakura, _Uchiha_?" Sasori spat out, narrowing his amber eyes into slits as he glared angrily at the raven haired male. The pinkette kept her head lowered, seeming now fully aware of the situation and inwardly cured her bad luck. How was it that only _these _things only seem to happen to just her?

"Sasori, if you want to fight then take it _outside_." Gaara stated calmly, keeping his voice carefully composed, though his eyes held a hint of jealously. When was Sakura ever _his? _He didn't have the right to make decisions for her; she was _clearly _smart enough to make her own decisions.

"Actually, I was just going to see Sakura." He instantly averted his attention towards the pinkette, quickly making his way over, dispute the pair attempting to block his way. "She _doesn't_ want to see you Sasori." Sasuke flicked his bangs out of his eyes arrogantly as he narrowed his obsidian eyes at the persistent red head.

Sakura subconsciously nibbled her lower lip in thought, before pushing herself out of the chair and quickly throwing her bag over her shoulder as she smoothed out the slight creases of Sasuke's coat. "Sasori, look I would talk to you if I had the time but I have to leave—"

"Why? We haven't had dinner yet Sakura—"

"Maybe she doesn't want to be around you _Gaara." _

"I wouldn't know why she should want to hang out with an arrogant playboy either." Gaara replied dryly, smirking when he detected that the raven haired hesitated to retort back as Sakura took the opportunity to leave there and then, not wanting to continue listening to this childish squabble.

Sasori, thinking alike followed closely behind his beloved pinkette, who was oblivious to that small detail as she muttered incoherent words that included both Gaara and Sasuke being so _immature_ that they had to argue like little children. Sakura dreaded the moment when she returned back into the cold, bitter evening air. She tightened the coat around her, inhaling the scent deeply, before sighing in content. Who knew Sasuke smelt so damn _good_...not that she could ever admit that to him of course.

She shivered slightly once the chilly air brushed against her face, but blinked when she noticed snowdrops gliding through the sky as it slowly hit the floor. She raised her head upwards; the sky was already darkened as the stars were visible through the white drops falling in all around in the air. She smiled at the beautiful scenery in front of her, but her delight was short lived when she felt an arm snake around her waist, pulling her closer. Despite the fact that he was _nice _and _warm_, she _did_ like having personal space.

"Mhm, Sakura, I've missed you." Sasori mumbled softly, resting his head on top of hers, slightly loosening his grip on her waist. Sakura sighed, relaxing in his arms as she titled her head against his chest. Although he always acted clingy towards her, she actually liked this side of him.

"Sakura!"

Their moment was cut short as they broke apart, as Sasuke and Gaara were rushing towards them. Sakura smiled apologetically at the red head as she quickly waved to a free taxi as it easily pulled up at the pavement, she opened the door before sliding inside and swiftly shut the door. The taxi resumed driving as Sakura waved at a slightly dazed Sasori as the other red head and raven haired males had only just arrived outside. The driver turned his head to see the weary pinkette, who rubbed her temples, her previous headache was quickly returning. "Hard day, hm?" He inquired, turning the wheel around the corner.

"You have _no _idea."

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**A/N2: **Finally! I've finished this really _long _chapter O_O this took me _ages_ to write but I've managed to write it all up! I'm sorry if this was really late but with school and all the homework I'm getting; I haven't had much time lately!

Remember to vote for the next male you want Sakura to date!

Review please :D

Saku-Chan


	6. Date 5: Itachi

**Disclaimer:** Nope, I don't own Naruto never had never will!

**A/N: **Wow, time sure goes fast doesn't it! It's already been three months since I last updated...but the main thing is that I'm finally back with an early Christmas treat, enjoy!

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20 _Perfect _Dates

Chapter 6

Date 5: Itachi

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"_Oh_ look Sakura! It's twenty percent off!" Ino squealed in delight, her purple pumps tapped loudly as she hurried from clothe rack to rack, leaving behind a reluctant pink haired woman, who slowly trailed after the eager blonde with bag straps hanging out her arms along with an exasperated look evident on her face. She sighed dejectedly; her emerald eyes dully watched her satisfied friend snatch away the designer clothes smugly as the women looked between a mixture of disappointment and jealously. Sakura couldn't suppress the amused chuckle as it escaped her lips; no matter how utterly crazy Ino was about shopping, she _definitely_ didn't make life boring.

But, after spending over an _hour _of waiting for Ino to finish her shopping, anyone would start to regret agreeing to go shopping with her, even the ever so patient Sakura –who was stuck holding Ino'sbags, containing _only_ the best designer clothes for the blonde herself. She didn't even have a chance to look around herself, due to after spending hours in the shopping centre because of Ino, her previous shopping mood turned horribly sour. Sometimes Sakura wondered if she was getting soft, as she wouldn't normally let herself be forced into going shopping with Ino. It was only because seemed like a good enough excuse to avoid her persistent admirers, especially _Sasori _and _Sasuke_.

She couldn't understand how they were attracted to an average girl like her, when they could easily get glamorous girls like Ino. The vibrant haired woman furrowed her eyebrows together in thought; it didn't really make any sense as it didn't seem like a coincidence that she had met all these well known celebrities (–who heck have their own fan clubs) just a few days ago, and had quickly grown feelings for her in one day. Sakura pondered on whether or not it was planned, but the question was –_who?_

"Sakura dear, why _are_ you staring into space again, you know it's not very polite when I'm talking to you." Ino's criticising voice broke through Sakura's chain of thought, causing the pink haired woman to frown, wondering how she couldn't hear the loud _taps_ of Ino's presumably pricey heels. The blonde cocked a sceptical eyebrow at her friend, until another shop caught her eye and before Sakura knew it, a bunch of newly brought set of bags were literally _thrown _in her direction. She had just narrowly caught them in time before they had fallen to the floor, letting out a sigh of relief before lifting her gaze, her green eyes clashed with soft brown. As realisation struck her, a grin adoring her face as she glanced up at the amused brunette.

"Yo, Sakura."

Said girl couldn't contain her excitement as she flung her arms around the surprised brunette, and snuggled closer; causing the male felt his face to instantly turn red and slowly, awkwardly lifted his arms and struggled to decided whether to return the hug, but chose to pat her back instead. Sakura pulled back, her lips curled into a fake mock frown as she crossed her arms.

"Have you been avoiding me Shikamaru?" She inquired, as she raised a curious slender brow. Shikamaru blinked in slight confusion before mumbling out a quiet response, it made Sakura struggle to keep the mock frown in place as she watched him stumble on his words, but once a soft giggle escaped from her lips, it increased the blush on the brunette's face as he averted his gaze away from hers in embarrassment.

"Don't worry Shikamaru, I was _only_ teasing." Sakura patted his shoulder supportively, before going on her tippy toes and placed a quick, soft kiss on his forehead. She smiled at him before pivoting on her heel and began searching for her lost friend, who was either still shopping for clothes that she didn't really need, or was frantically going out of her mind as Sakura wasn't with her. She pondered on whether or not she should go looking for her, just in case the second scenario was going to happen, the possibilities of what were to happen...well, to put it simply it would only cause _her _more embarrassment.

This motivated her to pick up her pace, leaving behind a slightly dazed Shikamaru, who trailed behind Sakura, a carefree smile curling on his lips, oblivious to the stares he was receiving from giggling girls who passed him, but he paid them no attention, only to the woman walking in front of him, her soft pink hair tucked into a messy ponytail with stray strands framing her face. His gaze lowered until it reached to the number of bags clinging on her arms, as concern washed over his faded blush. He rushed forward, laying a hand on Sakura, who stopped searching for the blonde as she glanced at Shikamaru.

"What is it Shika-kun?" Sakura questioned absentmindedly, her emerald eyes scanning through crowds that mostly consisted of teenagers in search for Ino. "Let me at least help you carry some of the bags." The brunette offered, inwardly wondering how she could cope with carrying countless bag straps filled with onlythe best clothes for _Ino_. Sakura didn't seem to be struggling with carrying them around, but Shikamaru didn't think it would be fair to let her hold the bags while Ino flaunted herself, as she usually did.

"Oh, it's alright _really_—"She tried to decline his offer, but he refused to take no for an answer as he gently removed the majority of the bags, much to Sakura's protesting. He shook his head as he stole a quick glimpse at the woman of his affections, although she continued searching for the blonde model, a firm pout settled on her face. However, after Shikamaru had suggested that he would buy her a nice hot chocolate, Sakura quickly succumbed to his advances as she linked her arm with his with a cheery smile.

"C'mon then Shika-kun! Let's get that hot chocolate _then_ we can find Ino!"

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"Tch, who knew it would be so hard to find a _pink_ haired girl."

"Stop complaining Kankuro, you were happy enough to get out of work early." Temari regarded her brother in amusement, before returning her attention back to the cloth racks.

"Well, at least _you_ weren't threatened by Gaara. Sheesh, you would think he was obsessed or something." He retorted, inwardly shivering as his sister rolled her eyes at her cowardly brother. Who knew that Gaara would fall so fast for a woman he had met in one day, she was the only thing he ever talked about now. But he had to admit, his attitude melted from a quite arrogant playboy to a fine gentleman, Kankuro noted that this Sakura must be special if she can easily get Gaara wrapped around her little finger.

Temari on the other hand was _absolutely_ delighted when Gaara declared to Kankuro and herself that he harboured feelings for Sakura, she now made it her priority to get Sakura and Gaara together, as she decided by herself that she approved of his chosen girl –which didn't happen often mind you. She was quick at judging the girls Gaara would usually bring to either the restaurant or back home, and she honestly didn't like any of them as they were quite clinging and obviously weren't going to last long with Gaara's track record of dumping them the very next day. But there was something special about this girl that Temari couldn't put her finger on it, in fact she would _love_ it if she were to become her sister in-law. As Sakura seemed like the kind of person that she would easily get along with.

"Temari, since you're _so _busy with shopping, I think I'll go actually look for Sakura." He said, already walking towards the exit as he couldn't stand shopping with sister as she would ask for his opinion, which leaves him in an awkward situation if he unintentionally offended her. It wasn't _his _fault is he was being honest, as Temari would ask his views of the clothing and it was his job as a _caring_ brother to tell his sister if she looked fat in it. But he eventually learned to stop voicing his opinions and to get out of the shop as quickly as possible, it wasn't a wonder why Gaara didn't come with her on the shopping trips but _he_ ended up being dragged along.

"If you _must _know Kankuro, I was looking for a Christmas present for our future sister in-law!" Kankuro heard his sister shout as he left the store, and then something about getting her a drink from Starbucks. He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked towards Starbucks. Once he reached to the store, he stepped inside and almost instantly he inhaled the scent of the warm drinks, smiling he strolled over towards the till and looked through the menu, deciding what he should order.

"This muffin is _really_ good! Want to try some Shikamaru?"

The familiar voice broke through Kankuro's thoughts, and he turned his head to see Sakura eating a blueberry muffin while towards the exit along with a _male _companion. His face visibly paled as he quickly got out his phone, and pressed speed dial.

"_Yeah_ Temari, I think we have a problem."

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The only sound in the room was the echoing of fingernails drumming impatiently on the wooden desk, his attention attached on his navy slim phone. The neatly organised papers stacked on the desk were left unread,

"U-Umm, Mr U-Uchiha you h-have a meeting i-in ten minutes." His new personal assistant informed him nervously; she fumbled with the paperwork she was holding as she laid it on the desk. Now normally, before he had met Sakura he would pick the most gorgeous and beautiful women to be his assistant, they were usually the type of girls who didn't pay attention to their work and were only interested in two things –his good looks, inherited from his father _and_ his money.

He tore his eyes away from the phone as he silently observed his newest assistant in mild interest who was hired by his father, who had decided that it was time that he should start getting 'serious' with his work than to mess around foolishly with women. He did admit she was pretty in her own way, but she could never be compared to the beauty of Sakura. Although they did have a rocky start at first, where Sakura seemed to be disgusted to be in his mere presence, but their strained relationship had improved over time.

Sighing, he dismissed his anxious assistant before returning most of his attention on the large pile of paperwork left on his desk, reluctantly picking up a pen he started signing the papers. That is, until he couldn't resist the temptation of picking up his phone and calling a certain rosette, the monotone dial rung through this ears before he relished in the angelic voice of Sakura.

"Oh thank goodness Ino! You've _finally_ picked up your phone—"

"Sakura?" Sasuke inquired, confused to hear her ramble endlessly about Ino when she had called _him_. For a moment, the other end of the phone went silent; he could hear her muttering something incoherent as there seemed to be another _male _voice in the background. He couldn't suppress the growl as it erupted from his throat.

"Sakura? Who is there with you?" Sasuke demanded. His teeth gritted in irritation at the prospect of _his _girl with another male. He tried to keep his temper in check as he quickly realised _exactly_ he was talking to, he averted his anger as he clenched his fists tightly that were hidden under the table, away from the watchful eyes of his assistant.

"Oh, Sasuke. It's...you." She replied dryly, a hint of disappointment leaking in her voice. "Why? What's it you to who I'm with?" She retorted briskly through the phone, though Sasuke was unaffected, as he listened with a dazed expression, leaving any girls that were _conveniently_ walking just outside his office squealing at his adorable face.

"Because Sakura, I..." He hesitated for a moment, not really comfortable speaking out his feelings towards the rosette, who still did not return it he noted sadly.

"Hmm? What are you going to say Sasuke, that you _care_ for me?" Her harsh tone caused him to wince. He couldn't really blame her, as her first impression of him didn't exactly go well. But he wanted to prove to her that he had changed –he wasn't selfish and conceited as he used to.

"Sakura, I _do_ care for you. You're the only person I ever think about anymore!" The raven haired male insisted, pleading with the rosette to believe him.

"...Do you really mean that Sasuke?" Sakura inquired her tone no longer sarcastic as it turned slightly vulnerable. Hope instantly struck through Sasuke's mind; a relieved smile graced his handsome face, satisfied that she was at least thinking about giving him a second chance.

"Of course I do Sakura! I lo—"

"Can you wait for a minute Sasuke?" She interrupted his unspoken confession; he waited patiently as he listened silently for her to return. The raven haired male momentarily glanced at the corner of his eye at the untouched pile of paperwork left on his desk; he merely shrugged it off as that matter didn't seem as important to him now, as he was speaking to Sakura, _his_ future wife.

"Hey Shika-kun, can you try calling Ino on your phone? I'm sort of in the middle of speaking to someone —Wait, is that _Gaara_?"

The moment he heard her speak whoever this 'Shika-kun' basterd _really_ ticked him off, but when he heard her utter that _damned_ red head's name, _that _really set him off as rage was practically radiating from his body as he instantly sprung out of his chair, darting out of his office, just managing to grab his coat in time before hurrying towards the elevator, leaving behind his confusion assistant who meekly attempted at getting his attention to return back to his office along with a throng of squealing workers.

Not bothering to delay the time he had waiting for the elevator, he dashed straight for the stairs. As he was on one of the _top _floors of the building, but this didn't seem to diminish his anger as he quickened his pace down the stairs, and within minutes he had reached the lobby. He sighed heavily in relief; inwardly glad that he managed to run down the stairs without tripping clumsily but obviously he _wouldn't _be regarded as clumsy, after all he was an Uchiha. He hurried towards the revolving doors in haste, narrowly avoiding innocent bystanders as he quickly sunk his hands into his pocket in search for his keys.

"Sakura? _Sakura? _Gaara isn't molesting you is he?" Sasuke hissed under his breath, keeping his voice low, worried as the rosette wasn't answering. After realising that Gaara must be behind this he pressed the end call button phone as he flicked his car alarm off with one swift move before slamming the door behind him. He shoved his car keys in the ignition, instantly causing the machine to purr, awaking the vehicle as he drove off in haste.

An onlooker narrowed his eyes in disapproval, he sighed before averting his attention towards his perky assistant who was clinging onto his arm as if he would simply vanish into thin air. He inwardly rolled his eyes at his assistant, not bothering to shrug her hold off as it would only raise more questions from her, as he already had enough listening to her pitchy voice. Maybe it was time he had a new assistant?

"Itachi-sama! How did the meeting go?" Came the overly chirpy voice, a plastic smile was spread across her face. Her brown hair wrapped tightly around in a neat bun along with a few stands of hair framing her face.

"Fine." He stated, having no desire to continue this pointless conversation with a girl who had more interest in his money than anything else. Then again, he was already used to this sort of treatment as his father was in charge of a _very _successful business which only seemed to lure mostly the fake and deceitful of women who enjoyed being in the company of a wealthy man such as himself.

His brother however didn't seem to mind the attention, as he didn't take a genuine interest in taking over the business when their father eventually retired, leaving Itachi with all the work to do. But surprising, after the passed couple of days Sasuke seemed to be completing the majority of his assigned paperwork. He would pay attention in meetings, but would occasionally glance at his phone, which caused both suspicion and curiosity to grow within him. That is until he found out what or _who _to be more precise; it seemed that his little brother had met his 'future wife' at one of the parties he attended. Now at first, Itachi thought this was quite absurd for his little brother to be foolish enough to fall for a girl he barely knew. But at least it got him to do some decent work, as he was a slacker whenever it ever included work.

"_Itachi-sama_, you're not ignoring me are you?" A childish whine broke his train of thought; his assistant tightened her grip on his arm as her face twitched into a frown. Itachi tore his eyes from the spot where Sasuke had disappeared towards his pouting assistant, unaffected by her attempt at making him feel guilty. He merely shrugged off her arm as he motioned for the lobby assistant to inform her to get his car.

"Excuse me, but I have to leave to deal with personal matters. Would you mind clearing my meetings for the day?" He notified his attentive assistant, who anxiously nodded at his orders, evidently dazed by his smooth, musical voice.

"Yes, of course Itachi-sama! Anything for you!"

He nodded at the brunette before making his way out of the building and into the crisp, frosty winter air. He stopped for a moment, as he felt his pocket vibrating; he quickly shoved his hand before retrieving a red, slim phone.

"Itachi Uchiha speaking," He answered his usual monotone in place, inwardly sighing when he heard a familiar, eager voice ring through his phone. He walked towards his car on a snow coated path, his shoes easily making its marks on the white, watery pavement.

"Hey Itachi, I was just wondering if you had forgotten the favour you were going to do for me today." Her chirpy voice reminded him of his overly clingy assistant, which worsened his mood. It was bad enough that Ino had shamelessly blackmailed him into going on a blind date, but he also had to find his idiotic brother who had decided that it was alright for him to ditch work.

"I'm sorry Ino but I'm afraid I will have to take a rain check on that, I have other matters to deal with—"

"_No_. I have a tight schedule Itachi so you need to show up today, or else you would rather me reveal some of your _secrets_ to the paparazzi?" He could practically imagine a smug smirk plastered on her face, his usually impassive face melted almost immediately as it turned exasperated. The blonde knew exactly that she was getting on his nerves, as she refused to take no for an answer.

"...Fine." He gritted out, tempted to put an end to this conversation. He managed to muster back his impassive self before he did something he would have regret, the raven haired male quietly took a few deep breaths, as the blonde wasn't worth getting bothered about.

"Great, so I expect to see you show up _this_ time Itachi!" Then the dial tone was all that he heard as Ino had already hung up before he could even get a word in. He merely dropped his phone into his pocket as he nodded towards his chauffeur before stepping into the car.

'Hopefully the girl Ino picked isn't a clingy fan girl' He mused, his eyes calmly observed the picture of the said girl that Ino was courtesy enough to send it. He had to admit, she didn't look _that _bad, it wasn't everyday that he was going to meet a _pink _haired girl. A slow smirk crept its way onto his lips as he chuckled, she _had_ to be interesting if she was Sasuke's 'fiancé'

-

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-

"Hey Shika-kun, can you try calling Ino on your phone? I'm sort of in the middle of speaking to someone —Wait, is that Gaara?" Sakura blinked in confusion, unaware that Sasuke had heard the last part. She could see the noticeable red head stalking in her direction, resisting the temptation to run she glanced sideways towards Shikamaru –who seemed alarmed as he narrowed his eyes at the quickly approaching red head, who had his siblings closely trailing behind.

"Sakura, I think we should go—" Shikamaru attempted to persuade the rosette as he realised that a certain admirer of his was walking his way, but just as Sakura was about to answer, it was already too late.

"Shikamaru-kun! What a surprise to see you here." Temari piped cheerfully, she smiled blissfully at the hesitant brunette.

"Temari." He nodded curtly, keeping calm despite receiving intense glares from Gaara. However, his composed self instantly vanished when the blonde suddenly hugged him, absentmindedly snuggling closer. Shikamaru stared desperately at Sakura, who merely smiled at him as she was oblivious of his affections for her.

"C'mon Shikamaru-kun, let's go catch up!" Throwing one last attempt at trying to convince Sakura that he _wasn't_ interested in Temari, he was reluctantly dragged along with the happy blonde. Leaving behind Gaara, Sakura and an oblivious Kankuro. Gaara cleared his throat as he glared at Kankuro, who took a while before realising that his little brother to have some alone time with Sakura.

"_Oh_... I think I'll just go catch up with Temari," Kankuro laughed nervously, sheepishly rubbing his neck while slowly backing away before breaking into a run in the direction where Temari and Shikamaru went.

Sakura stared blankly at the spot where Kankuro was previously standing, and couldn't help but wonder if this was somehow planned as it was only Gaara and herself left. The rosette felt an intense gaze on her and couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, she loosened her scarf slightly as she felt it suddenly heat up but just shrugged it off.

"Sakura." He smiled, almost causing the rosette to squeal at his undeniably cuteness. She inwardly slapped herself for thinking of such things, as she averted her eyes away from the worried red head, her cheeks glowing red by the minute.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sakura nearly jumped when Gaara appeared in front of her out of nowhere, he lifted his hand as it came into contact with her forehead to check her temperature. Her emerald orbs widened at the unexpected act, she could practically see concern written all over his face, his _adorable _face she mentally added.

"I'm fine, just a little bit warm." She shrugged off his hand as she stumbled backwards, into a wall, at least she _tried _to convince herself that she bumped into a wall.

"Sakura? Gaara didn't touch you did he?" A frantic Sasuke questioned as he quickly twirled her around to check, when he was sure that she was fine, he quickly snatched her away before Gaara had the chance to grab her. He held her possessively, glaring daggers at the infuriated red head.

"Give her back _now _Uchiha." Gaara all but growled, his pale green narrowed at the raven haired so called 'prodigy'.

"Make me, Sabaku." That was all Gaara needed to hear as he lunged forwards in attempt to seize the rosette, but didn't succeed as Sasuke merely stepped aside as the red head stopped himself from stumbling.

"You don't care for Sakura, you _only_ want her so you don't have to get married!"

"Don't listen to him Sakura, he's only telling you lies." Sasuke pleaded with the pink haired, grasping onto her petite hands, his onyx eyes searching through hers.

"_You're _the one telling her lies, Uchiha." Gaara easily seized her back into his grasp as he gently stroked her hair, "Sakura, believe me I _do _care for you." He spoke soothing, shooting a glare in Sasuke's direction.

Sakura slowly let it all in, as she kept getting pulled from Sasuke and Gaara. She tried to keep her temper under control, as they continued to fight, trying to convince her that they truly '_cared'_ and '_loved'_ her. Well, if they did then why weren't they letting _her_ speak for once? She could understand that they held feelings for her, but sometimes she wondered whether she could handle going through this every time she meets the two of them. She stared at both Sasuke and Gaara before finally cracking.

"_Enough_!" Both males stopped their heated argument to regard the fuming rosette; fury was evident in her pale green orbs. "I am _sick _and _tired_ of listening to you two bicker every time you meet! So until you two start to act like your age, I won't be talking to _either _of you." Not waiting for a reply, she pivoted on her heel and stalked away, her previous happy mood was now tainted as she was forced to watch Sasuke and Gaara constantly at each other's throats. They would get all possessive over her as if she was some prize to be won, and to be frank she was getting tired of going through this faze over and over again.

She could hear her name being called distantly as footsteps were growing nearer, but this only caused her to quicken her pace as she hurried towards the elevator, who's doors was slowly closing, but with one more burst of energy she had managed to slip inside the elevator and a heavy sigh of relief escaped her lips.

After a moment of silence, she glanced from the corner of her eye to see a tall, hot dark haired male standing _right _beside her. She couldn't help but wonder how he looked so much like Sasuke, _unless _he could be related to him of course. The mere thought of the arrogant raven haired male disgusted her; she couldn't understand what she ever saw in him, as he probably just thought of her as another trophy that he could easily replace with a more beautiful person that she is. Inwardly cursing, she shook her head in attempt to get rid of any recurring thoughts of Sasuke; she tried to convince herself that he wasn't worth getting herself worked up about it, as it would only lead to one _hell_ of a headache.

"Stupid Sasuke and stupid Gaara," She muttered darkly under her breath, glaring at the ground as she felt slightly disappointed that Gaara had acted that way, her first impression of him was that he _seemed _like a true gentleman, but it was probably just an act to get her to like him so he could act smug in front of Sasuke. Honestly, they were both as bad as each other.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but how do you know Sasuke?" The rosette's train of thought broke as a smooth, silky voice reached her ears and almost instantly, she found herself blushing like a schoolgirl. "U-Uh...yes w-why do you ask?" She stuttered helplessly, while a nervous smile twitched at the corners of her lips, giving Itachi the impression that she was a _tad_ bit deranged. The rosette inwardly kicked herself for making her seem complete fool in front of the male who was _devastatingly_ good looking, momentarily forgetting her previous hatred for the male species. He caught her off guard by chuckling in clear amusement, only causing the blush on Sakura's face to turn a deeper shade of red. "Well, I happen to be his older brother." He paused for a moment before extending his hand out towards the evidently embarrassed women. "Itachi Uchiha, pleased to make your acquaintance," he gently lifted her petite hand in his as he guided it towards his soft _warm _lips.

Sakura nearly _fainted _when she felt his lips come into contact with her hand, her inner self squealed in sheer happiness. She observed shyly as he slowly released her hand, his obsidian eyes silently stared at the dazed rosette, noting that she acted like every other girl he had ever encountered –a fan girl. However he couldn't suppress his growing curiosity, as to know how Sakura had met Sasuke, who hasn't been able to keep his mouth shut about her being absolutely _perfect _to be his future wife. Their father had almost immediately objected to this, and wanted to meet the so called 'perfect women' that was meant for his son. His _mother_ on the other hand was a different story; she started getting excited about meeting her possible daughter in-law. So, being the _caring_ brother that he is he could not resist the opportunity of meeting the highly spoken of rosette, and with Ino cleverly arranging the blind date, who was he to refuse such an offer?

"May I ask how did you get the pleasure of meeting my brother?" Itachi inquired innocently, casting a glance at Sakura with mild interest. The rosette's previously flushed face was instantly replaced by a deep frown, her bright emerald orbs darkened with a mixture of unreadable emotions.

"Honestly, I would rather not talk about him if you don't mind." She stated a firm scowl settled on her face as she averted her eyes away from Itachi, anger was quickly returning as did the recurring thoughts of the arrogant Uchiha. Itachi felt slightly surprised by the sudden change in mood, he could not suppress his interest of what exactly had caused her to despise Sasuke so much, he wondered what his little brother had done to upset the _undeniably_ adorable girl, which he would not admit out loud of course. He _was _an Uchiha after all.

"Oh? Did Sasuke do something to offend you?" Genuine concern was laced in his smooth, musical voice. Sakura pondered on whether or she should confide in Itachi –a complete stranger, and to make the situation worse, he was related to _Sasuke_. She weighed down her two options, one was that she could tell him what happened and could end up crying foolishly on a _stranger's _shoulder no less. Or she would just keep her mouth _shut_. But this could bottle up her emotions, which had the possibilities of suddenly bursting out.

The pink haired woman furrowed her eyebrows together as she nibbled on her lower lip in thought, not noticing that a pale blush spread across Itachi's cheeks, who could not understand how this girl could easily mess with his emotions, he shook his head in attempt to shake away the pestering feelings, he tore away his eyes away from the oblivious rosette as his shoulder length bangs swept over his eyes, along with his slightly flushed face.

Sakura let out a shaky breath as she finally made her decision; unaware of the male standing next to her was going through conflicting feelings. "Well, it's really complicated to explain." She tried to get out of talking about it, as she struggled to find the right words. But, just as she was about to continue, the elevator was suddenly pulled to a halt as the lights flickered off for a second plunging the pair into darkness before the lights switched back on.

"Well, it looks like we're going to be here for a while so we have got time." Itachi placed a supportive hand on Sakura's shoulder; his eyes watched her brushing her stray strands behind her ear softly. He could just about breathe when Sakura shyly glanced at him, before nodding. He refused to accept these feelings for the girl, but now...he wasn't so sure.

-

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-

"Ah, what a great day spend shopping." Ino smiled gleefully, colourful bags were hanging off her arms as she casually strolled through the shopping mall. Fully aware that she had easily achieved most of the males' attention as she passed by them, she merely winked at them and they were sigh in bliss. She chuckled at the effect she had on men, she felt that she had power.

'I wonder how the date's going' Ino mused to herself, moving her bags to one arm as she quickly searched through the depth of her bag before reclaiming her phone, which had a few unanswered calls along with a number of urgent text messages from a certain friend of hers.

She sighed as she carefully placed her phone back into her bag, the platinum blonde watched through the packed mall, as there were Christmas decorations all around with the Santa's grotto in place along the children lining up. Ino smiled softly at the sight, the children waited in anticipation as they could barely contain their excitement.

"This is all _your_ damned fault Sabaku!"

"How is it _my_ fault that I was only telling her the truth?"

Startled, she turned her head around to see Sasuke and Gaara standing impatiently outside a elevator, currently in the midst of a shouting match. She merely rolled her eyes at their childish behaviour, they were supposed to be professional business men yet they acted as if they were little children fighting over something trivial.

Their heated argument seemed to catch an audience that only consisted of women who squealed in bliss at the devilishly handsome men standing right before them, the males were unaware that they had unintentionally captured a throng of women.

Ino sighed, how was it _so_ hard for them to disguise themselves so this doesn't happen? She wondered why they were even here at the first place; it wasn't like they were going Christmas shopping. They would usually get their assistants to do the shopping for them or they would simply buy gifts on the internet. She would know as last Christmas they bought her shoes, well they were _gorgeous_ but sadly they were in the wrong size.

She couldn't help but wonder why they were standing outside an elevator anyway? It wasn't like they weren't able to walk down the stairs –and they were much shorter in this mall as there were only three floors. Her train of thought had instantly broken when she heard the _ding _of the elevator bell; Sasuke and Gaara were about to enter it when out of nowhere Sakura dashed straight out, narrowly avoiding anyone crossing her path.

Ino noticed that the rosette's face was glowing red, which she did little to hide as she made a break for the stairs. She then noticed Itachi following closely after, a smirk plastered over his face as he chased after her.

"It's no use running away Sakura-chan, you'll be _mine_ whether you like it or not!" Itachi called towards Sakura, this only caused the girl to quicken her pace as she scurried down the stairs three at a time, not bothering to catch her breath as she practically ran for her life.

Then Sasuke and Gaara took exchanged baffled looks before realisation had effectively struck them as they started racing after Sakura and Itachi, shamelessly shouting insults towards the raven haired male to stop running after '_their_' Sakura.

The blonde watched in a mixture of confusion and amusement as the only thing that popped in Ino's mind was 'what the _hell_ happened in that elevator?'

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**A/N:** This took me _much _longer than I expected, I had a few exams I had to revise for during November. So hopefully this was a good enough apologise for you guys. I'm finally off school for the Christmas holidays so I plan to update much more this month (hopefully) I

Oh and thanks for all of the support guys! If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have much motivation to write so thanks a lot ^_^

If I don't update by the end of this month, have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Please review and don't forget to vote!

Saku-Chan


	7. Date 6: Neji

Disclaimer: I don't own the show Naruto, or the characters,

A/N: Hey guys! I'm really sorry for the late update, but I'm not going to bore you guys with the details!

I apologize for any/all mistakes, I'm on my summer break.

Please enjoy this chapter 8-)!

**Update 10/01/11****: **I have added an extra part at the end of this chapter; I apologize if you were expecting an update!

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20 _Perfect _Dates

Chapter 7

Date 6: Neji

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"Ino, you wake me up extremely early this morning to go to a spa? Really?" Sakura sighed dejectedly, while just about suppressing a yawn. It was a Saturday morning, which she initially wanted to spend catching up on lost sleep, due to working over hours in the hospital.

"Is it so wrong that I wanted to pamper my only best friend?" The blonde had the nerve to look completely innocent, her azure eyes widened at being accused of using her friend for an excuse to go to the spa. Sakura shot the blonde an unconvinced look, and look a long sip of her coffee, which was the only thing that was keeping her awake.

"Seriously Ino, I was hoping for a day off today. You know how much work I have to deal with at the hospital." Sakura rubbed her temple, in an attempt to push away her slowly growing headache. After the hectic week she had to go through, with all the tiresome patients and the overflowing paperwork plus the unexpected meeting of Uchiha Itachi. He seemed like a calm, composed man at a first glance, but for some strange reason, he seemed to be attracted to her.

Now, there were probably hundreds or maybe even thousands of girls who would love to be in her position. And Sakura would happily switch places with anyone of them; she didn't understand what was so great about him. Yeah okay, sure he had handsome god-like looks and a charming personality. In fact, Sakura had to admit she was smitten at first, who wouldn't be if they were in a room with the man himself.

The pinkette's eyebrows furrowed together in thought, she didn't understand what had caused Itachi to act in that way, all she remembered doing was explaining her situation with his jerk of a brother, he also spoke a bit of his past involving Sasuke, and suddenly out of the blue he pounced on her like a wild animal. Luckily enough the elevator doors were starting to work round about that time, so she was able to make her getaway from the devastatingly good-looking male. The memories flew around in her mind; the image of Itachi wouldn't leave her mind.

"_Well, it looks like we're going to be here for a while so we have got time." Itachi placed a supportive hand on Sakura's shoulder; his eyes watched her brushing her stray strands behind her ear softly. He could just about breathe when Sakura shyly glanced at him, before nodding._

"_It's just that he acts like he owns me or something." Sakura told the raven haired male, her tone accompanied by an eye roll. "Honestly, I used to be absolutely obsessed with him a few years ago." She sighed, just missing the slightly disappointed look that appeared on Itachi's face, but as quick as it appeared it disappeared in an instant. _

"_At some point, I felt like I actually was in love with him," A small smile twisted on her face, reminiscing in the memories when she had feelings for Sasuke. "But now, I can finally see the real Sasuke. I feel so stupid for wasting such emotions on a jerk like him." She sniffed softly; she could already feel the tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes._

"_Please don't cry, Sakura-san." She froze when she felt a tender hand wipe away the tears that made their way down her rosy cheekbones. "I hate to see such a beautiful girl cry." He smiled softly, while soothingly stroking her hair. She couldn't stifle the growing smile as she shyly glanced at the male standing in front of her; a blush crossed the bridge of her nose. _

"_Y-you think I'm beautiful?" Sakura inquired, averting her eyes to her shoes and lightly bit her lower lip in anticipation. Itachi chuckled, and stopped caressing her hair for a moment before patting her head in a reassuring manner._

"_Would you believe me if I said yes, Sakura-san?" He lifted her chin with his finger, her eyes meeting with his own. Sakura almost lost herself for a moment, as she awkwardly coughed in her fist and took a step back. Although he was incredibly handsome, she didn't want to have to deal with the love business, besides he already had his massive fan base. _

"_Mr Uchiha, I appreciate the compliment but I just want you to know that I'm not going to fall for your game." She said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly. The Uchiha in question simply raised an eyebrow in response; a small rare smile crept its way onto his face. _

"_Believe me, Sakura. I am not playing any games, I would not say that to just any girl," He advanced closer, and turn she took a cautious step back. "I find you fascinating." He reached out to pick a stray strand of hair, gently stroking the delicate hair, a dazzlingly smile settled on his equally handsome face. _

"_J-just wait a minute, you think that by saying that I would fall in your arms, and declare my love for you?" Sakura cocked a slender brow in amusement, letting out a bark of laughter. After a few minutes passed, Itachi continued to stare at her, and the laughter soon died into awkward coughs. _

"_Sakura-san, I know that you aren't like other girls. You aren't one of my crazy fans," He took her hands in his, and kissed the back of her hand. "You are one of a kind, Sakura-san, and I have one request for you," He looked at her, only to receive a hesitant nod. _

"_Will you go to dinner with me?" _

"_..." _

_The pinkette blinked, but quickly composed herself as she narrowed her eyes sceptically at the male. Only to find that he was actually being sincere, there wasn't even a trace of dishonesty on his face, leaving Sakura completely speechless for a moment._

"_Are you being serious?" The pinkette's emerald eyes widened in shock, as she took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself from the unexpected question, "Why would you want to date me if there are plenty of girls who would love for you to ask them on a date?" She questioned in bewilderment, staring at Itachi, who simply smiled at the pinkette and patted her head._

"_Well, why would I want to date any girl when I like you?" He inquired, cocking a curious eyebrow. The smile that curled on his lips almost made Sakura crack; she returned the smile nervously as she stepped away from the offending male. _

"_Okay, Mr Uchiha—" _

"_Please, Sakura-san call me Itachi." _

_Sakura glanced at him warily, "Okay, Itachi-san, that's really sweet of you to say that, but I'm not really looking to get into a relationship." Sighing, she ran a hand through her tresses. After the irritating incident with Gaara and Sasuke, she didn't even want to be with any male company. But it seemed that fate was going against her wishes, as she is practically trapped in an elevator with _the _Itachi Uchiha, who apparently wanted to have dinner with her...now there would probably be hundreds of girls who would love to be her position right now, and she would happily switch places._

_Itachi simply smiled at the pink haired woman, "Sakura, I am only asking for you to consider, even if I have to wait a month or even longer, I wouldn't mind as long as we are together." His voice was laced with nothing but sincerity and with that, Sakura's emerald eyes widened, her blushing face turned crimson. She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, feeling extremely uncomfortable with the incredibly handsome man staring at her intently by the passing second._

"_A-Ah, I see...well, maybe I will consider it...Itachi-san." She mumbled, sending a shy smile at the said male. Somehow that simple sentence, followed by Sakura's adorableness triggered something in the older man, as an unreadable emotion gleamed in his obsidian eyes, and before she knew it, he trapped her in one of the end corners with both arms._

"_I-Itachi-san, w-what are y-you doing?" Sakura stuttered, as she tried to distance herself as much as she could in the limited space. But her attempts were wasted as Itachi leaned forward, Sakura inhaled the smell his unquestionably expensive cologne, mixed in with the natural scent of man, she just about pulled herself together as she sniffed the pleasant odour._

"_My dear Sakura, I think I'm going to keep you all to myself." The said girl drew in a shaky breath as she watched the dark haired male cautiously; the male in question continued to lean in closer until his mouth came into contact with neck. Sakura froze for a moment, if he were any other man she would slap him silly for taking advantage of the situation, but for some reason, she didn't stop him, it was as if one part of her actually enjoyed the attention._

_With that final thought, Sakura used all her energy as she pushed Itachi away from her being. She shook her head, wondering why she was feeling disappointed the moment he wasn't by her side. Sakura stepped over to the elevator door, while warily watching the male who seemed to harbour a predator gleam in his eyes. She hastily pressed all the buttons, as if that simply action would get the elevator to work again._

"_I apologise if I startled you Sakura-san." He held out a hand, which Sakura inspected suspiciously and did not utter a word. "My foolish little brother has spoken nothing but you since he met you, I thought you were just some fan girl who had somehow wormed her way into his heart." He started, his tone harsh at first, his eyes flashed dangerously "But now I can see why Sasuke has harboured feelings for you, Sakura you are a beautiful, remarkable woman." He stated firmly, causing Sakura to stare at him in confusion. He looked about ready to pounce on her a few seconds ago, and now he's suddenly done a full one-eighty personality change._

"_For some reason, I can't control myself when I'm with you," Sakura's train of thought was broken when she finally noticed the sudden proximity between the two and she watched as he reached out and gently stroked her hair. "I find you far too adorable." _

"_Itachi-san—"She was cut off, by Itachi abruptly kissing her, causing her emerald eyes to grow as big as dinner plates. Much to her own dismay, she felt herself melting as Itachi pulled her closer. To her relief, the elevator's doors hissed open, and Sakura didn't hesitate to shove the older Uchiha away as she hastily made her exit, passing by two surprised males as she ran for her life._

'_Why do these things always happen to me' Sakura thought bitterly to herself, as she ignored the comments from the three annoying males following closely on her heels._

"—Kura, are you even listening to me?" Ino interrupted Sakura's reverie, her sigh accompanied with an eye roll. The pinkette shot her an apologetic glance as she sipped her coffee, only to find that it turned cold, much to her disappointment.

"Well anyway, hurry up and order your coffee Sakura. We're going to the spa in five minutes; we've got a big day ahead of us!" Ino said excitedly, as she busied herself with her phone and walked outside, while the pinkette ordered another coffee, if she was going to spend a day out, she was going to need all her energy to keep up with Ino and her plans.

Sakura thanked the waitress and handed her the required cash, along with a tip. The red haired woman smiled before turning her attention to another customer, the pinkette walked out of the café, the morning sunshine nearly blinded her as she shielded her eyes with her hand from the menacing sun and followed behind the blonde.

"Ino, what exactly do you have planned for today?" Sakura inquired, as she walked side by side with the blonde, who seemed engrossed in her phone to listen. Ino's perfectly manicured nails moved swiftly on her newly bought pink iPhone, the pinkette glanced at the phone, only to have her friend drop her sparkly phone into her bag.

"Well, I was thinking after going to the spa, we could go to my friend's dress shop." Ino informed the pink haired woman, as with one swift motion, a taxi pulled up smoothly on the curb. The blonde model indicated for Sakura to open the door, which she did reluctantly with an eye roll at her diva of a friend.

"Ino, you know that I don't like wearing dresses." Sakura shot her friend a deadpan look, who shrugged nonchalantly as she opened her bag for her mirror to check her appearance. Sakura sighed and shook her head; her attention was drawn away from her self-absorbed friend when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket.

She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen curiously, only to find that there was an unknown number. Tentatively, she answered it and held it to her ear.

"Hello, who's this?"

"Sakura, I wanted to call you to apologise for my inexcusable behaviour last week." Gaara said sincerely, hoping for the pink haired woman's forgiveness.

"O-Oh, Gaara. It's fine, don't worry about it." Sakura ignored Ino's questioning stare, as pushed back the stray strands of hair that escaped her messy attempt of a ponytail. She didn't have enough time to tidy her hair in the morning, as a certain blonde had rudely woke her up from her deep slumber. The pinkette noted that they had arrived at their destination when the taxi came to an abrupt stop, Ino paid the driver as she made her way out of the vehicle.

"Gaara, I'm really sorry but I have to go now, I'll speak to you later." And with that, Sakura clicked the end button of her phone before trailing after the blonde into the luxurious spa. The receptionist, once Ino was in sight immediately stood up to greet the famous model.

"Miss Yamanaka, always a pleasure to have you here." She smiled pleasantly, and indicated for a passing woman to attend to the model. Sakura followed the pair like a lost puppy, her eyes observed the building curiously, this spa was very well known in Japan, and had a strong reputation of being one of the best places for the rich and famous to be pampered. The spa was also supposed to be sponsored by Ino herself, which could explain the treatment she receives here.

"Here we are Miss Yamanaka," The assistant informed the pair, and bowed when she was dismissed. Ino turned to her friend with a smug smile plastered on her face, "Hear that Sakura, I'm treated like royalty here." Sakura simply rolled her eyes as they entered the room, where Ino was greeted highly by the staff, causing the blonde's ego to rise even further.

"Ah, isn't this relaxing Forehead?" Ino sighed in utter bliss, sinking even lower into the soothing hot spring. Sakura smiled in response, and closed her eyes as she let close her eyes in an attempt to take back the lost hours of sleep. It had been awhile since she was this relaxed due to unfortunate circumstances, like the unexpected meetings of a certain group that involved her admirers.

She just hoped that she didn't bump into them or a new admirer, but obviously fate always had other plans for her.

"Hmm, see Sakura, I knew you would enjoy coming here." Ino smiled knowingly at her childhood friend, she had heard that along with the immense amount of work Sakura had been piled with recently, she was being constantly hounded by males. Guilt flooded her mind for a moment, the blonde observed her friend, who was too busy dozing off to notice her stare.

'She'll thank me when she's living happily with her new husband' with that final reassuring thought, Ino too closed her eyes and let the soothing hot waters work its magic.

"So Ino, how's work going?" Sakura inquired, now fully dressed, and with a better mood in comparison to her previous mood that same morning. After a nice, relaxing half an hour of staying in the hot springs, Sakura and Ino were now waiting for their early lunch, the manager of the hot springs insisted that he would arrange for their food to be brought to their personally assigned rooms.

"Where do I begin," Ino sighed dramatically, causing the pinkette to roll her eyes. "As you know I've been working on advertising for this hot spring spa." She placed her hand on her chin in a thinking pose, "And, my manager has recently gotten me some work which requires me to be out of the country for a few days."

"That sounds great Ino, but why aren't you happy about it?" Sakura questioned, cocking a slender brow at the blonde.

"I am looking forward to it Forehead," Ino sighed, "It's just that who's gonna keep you company when I'm gone?" She smirked, then leaned forward to ruffle Sakura's hair. The pinkette in question protested as she attempted to smooth her damp hair.

"I'll be fine by myself, Ino." Sakura reassured the blonde, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. "Sakura, could you go and check on our food? I don't normally have to wait this long for my lunch." Ino crossed her arms over her chest, a pout settled on her face.

"Ino, we've only waited five minutes," Sakura rested her head on her hand, being the patient one of the pair. Ino had a tendency to be a bit impatient most of the time, but otherwise she was perfectly fine-ish.

"Please Sakura-_chan_." Ino fluttered her eyelashes, the pout was still on her face as she looked pleadingly at the pinkette, who rolled her eyes for what it seemed the umpteenth time that day, and promptly stood up and walked out of the room, and away from the blonde.

"Honestly, she can be such a nag sometimes." She mumbled under her breath, as she made her way to the receptionist. She narrowly avoided a bunch of staff, consisting only of girls who giggled excitedly as they walked—_ran_ to a guest room.

"Did you hear Itachi-sama's here!"

"He's so dreamy!"

She froze for a second, _Itachi Uchiha _was here? What were the odds that he was at this spa, where they were hundreds in the country...Sakura dismissed the thought, she probably heard them wrong, there was no way that he could be here.

Sakura shrugged it off; she didn't bother thinking about the matter as she walked to the front desk, where there was no sign of the brunette woman. The pinkette sighed, and decided to head back to her room, where the food was most likely to be.

She pivoted on her heel, fully intended to walk back to her room, when she walked into a chest. Being startled, Sakura bowed her head and apologised and stepped aside to let the person pass to the desk. She raised her head in confusion when she heard a low chuckle erupting from the person standing beside her, only to find not one other than Itachi Uchiha himself.

"I-Itachi? What the hell are you doing here?" Sakura nearly screeched, as she pointed an accusing finger at the male, who feigned an innocent look before it was quickly replaced by a smirk, the same possessive gleam that she witnessed in the elevator returned.

"Now, Sakura, no need for such language." He patted her hair affectingly, "I'm here on a business trip, its tiresome but necessary." He sighed, making Sakura nearly feel sorry for him, if he didn't pounce on her in the elevator and become possessive of her.

"The only highlight of this trip is seeing you," With that, he shot her a dazzlingly smile, causing a blush to spread on the bridge of her nose. She inwardly shook her head, this was only a plan for him to get closer to her, then to pounce when she wasn't expecting it.

"That's nice of you to say Itachi, but I have to return to my room." She smiled sweetly at the male as she passed him to walk quickly back to her room, where Ino was most probably going to throw a fit if the food didn't arrive yet.

"Sakura, had you considered going out for dinner with me?" He easily kept up with her pace, making her inwardly curse him for following her back, didn't he have any work he should be getting on with?

"Let me think about it Itachi, umm _no_." The pink haired woman stifled a sigh of relief when she finally reached her room, she was about to slide the door open, when she felt arms snake around her waist, she froze when she felt his breath hovering over her neck.

"Please, can you give me a chance, Sakura?" He whispered huskily, causing Sakura to feel goose bumps to appear on her skin. She took one, shaky deep breath and turned around to face him, her emerald eyes staring into his own obsidian eyes.

She leaned in, enough to smell his addictive scent, she noticed he froze and inwardly smirked. "Not in this life time, Itachi-_kun_," She murmured, and leaned back and shot the startled male a wink and took advantage of the situation and made her escape into the room, making her miss the slightly dazed expression on his face, and his growl of frustration.

"Where were you Sakura? The food's getting cold," Ino cocked an eyebrow, while picking up a vegetable roll with her chopsticks.

"I was just dealing with something," Sakura shrugged, and with that she proceeded to fill her plate with the expensive food. She forced Itachi to the back of her mind, and refused to think nothing of what had just happened moments ago. Her conscience, however already expected chaos to unravel.

"Here we are," Ino announced, indicating to the classy dress shop straight ahead. Sakura nodded, while she did admit the dresses from afar looked good enough for princesses to wear, she was never really a girly girl, much to Ino's dismay.

The bell on top of the door rang, the sound echoing through the shop. Sakura stood in awe at the dresses, they looked like they were made by a high class fashion designer. Ino wasn't kidding when she said that the designer was incredibly talented at creating dresses.

"Hinata, darling, I'm here to drop off my friend." Ino called out, her pink phone already snapped out as the blonde busied herself with finding out her schedule sent from her manager. Sakura casted a deadpan look in the model's direction, she was going to leave her here? Not any offence to the designer, but she would rather be at home, in her bed –asleep.

"I-Ino-san, it's great to s-see you again," The pinkette glanced around, until she found the speaker. Her eyes widened, as a young woman came into view, her dark indigo hair was layered in a chic fashion. She was wearing a gray turtleneck, with dark leggings and black summer sandals.

"Sakura, I have to go, and _don't _even think about leaving." Ino glared at the pinkette for a moment, who simply rolled her eyes at the empty threat. Before sending a smile in Hinata's direction, "Hinata, I want you to find Sakura a beautiful dress, and put it on my tab."

Sighing, Sakura watched as the blonde model left the exquisite dress shop. She turned around to find Hinata fidgeting with the hem of her turtleneck shirt, inwardly feeling awkward for wanting to leave, the pinkette put on her best smile as she approached the shy woman.

"Hello Hinata, it's nice to meet you." Sakura held out a hand, her warm smile settled in place. The woman glanced nervously at her for a moment, before reaching out her own hand a small smile appearing on her pretty face.

"Hello Sakura-san, I've heard m-many good things from Ino a-about you." Hinata bowed her head slightly, as they shook hands. Sakura wondered sceptically what exactly Ino had been saying about her to Hinata, she appeared innocent enough, but that was the same impression she had gotten for the males she had met in the past month.

"Oh really, what has Ino been saying about me?" Sakura inquired, feigning a curious look. Hinata seemed surprised at the question, but soon after a smile broke out on her face. "N-Nothing bad, Sakura-san, she j-just tells me what a g-good friend you are."

The pinkette blinked in confusion, but a sheepish look emerged on her flushing face. "Oh, okay, just wondering."

Hinata laughed, patting Sakura's back reassuringly as she led her further into the shop. "Sakura-san, you seem surprised that Ino-san would say such things about you." Once they were in one the excusive room, Sakura tread carefully, of fear she would accidently touch the expensive dresses that were draped over mannequins.

"So, Sakura-san, have you seen any dresses that you like?" Hinata busied herself around the room, trying to find her measuring items. The pinkette glanced around the room, unable to choose from the variety of dresses, blurs of different colours clouded her vision.

"They're all lovely, Hinata. It's just I don't really normally wear dresses," Sakura said, inwardly cringing at the memory in her childhood when she used to wear bright, pink, fluffy dresses. It was usually Ino, who loved to wear dresses; she on the other hand preferred to wear more comfortable, practical clothes.

"Well, you don't need to worry about finding a dress Sakura-san," Hinata disappeared momentarily, only to return with a dress carefully put on a hanger, Sakura silently gaped at the piece of clothing for a moment. "Ino had already arranged for me to design you a dress." She confessed a smile quirked on her lips as she observed the stunned pinkette.

"Hinata, I don't think I can accept—"

"Sakura-san, I insist that you try it on, please." Hinata handed the garment to the pinkette, giving her a gentle push in the direction of the dressing room. Sakura, not being able to turn down the cute woman, walked slowly, holding the dress at a reasonable distance from herself in case it would somehow get damaged.

Hinata smiled secretly, as she waited patiently for Sakura to change into the dress. Ino had let her in that she had arranged for her cousin, Neji to meet Sakura, and now having just met the kind pinkette, she was very happy that her cousin could be with someone like Sakura. The young woman waited in anticipation, as Neji would be arriving any moment now, she had been informed by Ino that he was already expecting to meet this Sakura Haruno, whom the blonde model had warned that the pinkette might act uninterested in him.

The sound of the bell ringing, along with the loud echoing of expensive shoes walking through the quiet dress shop, Hinata hid her smile as she greeted her cousin warmly. "Neji-san, i-it's nice to s-see you." She bowed her head to the older male, who returned the greeting impassively.

"Hinata-san, the feeling's mutual," He allowed a small smile, as he inclined his head politely.

The young woman glanced sideways at the changing rooms nervously. Sakura had not said a word since she entered the changing room, worry leaked into her mind for a moment, and she pondered whether or not to see if she needed assistance. She excused herself to Neji and walked timidly where Sakura was; hesitantly she knocked on the oak door, and waited for a reply.

"U-Umm, Sakura-san, are you having trouble with the dress?" She whispered, loud enough for the pink haired woman to hear.

"It's not that Hinata, its just...it doesn't look right on me." Sakura murmured softly, as if in shock. Hinata, feeling concerned peeked through the door, only to stare at the pinkette in admiration, the dress only increased Sakura's beauty.

"W-What are you talking about Sakura-san, you look beautiful." Her clear white eyes widened, she gasped quietly at Sakura, who averted her eyes to her shoes, and her previously pale complexion instantly turned crimson red at the compliment.

"You really think so?" She turned around, the dress fluttering softly, her back to the mirror and now facing Hinata's reassuring face. Sakura looked doubtful, the dress itself was beautiful, she felt out of place wearing it as she was plain and ordinary. The dress was a light creamy colour; it had white spaghetti straps that came from both sides of the dress and folded over each other to create the breast. Then below that, the dress flowed down to her knees, a floral pattern stitching at the bottom. It was a simple, yet beautiful dress.

"Of course, y-you look fine Sakura-san, stop w-worrying." The indigo haired woman patted Sakura's shoulder encouragingly, the pinkette graced Hinata with a small, still unconvinced smile.

"Sakura-san, w-would you mind meeting a close f-friend of mine?" Hinata inquired, ushering for the other woman to move out of the changing room, and quickly grabbed Sakura's clothes as she walked back into the main room, where Neji was waiting, clad in his usual attire, consisting of his black suit.

"Neji-san, I would like you to meet my friend, Sakura-san." Hinata grasped the pink haired woman's wrist, and gently tugged it over to where Neji was standing, who was closely watching Sakura. The pinkette in question inwardly calmed herself, and looked at the male confidently.

"Hello Neji," Sakura inclined her head politely, observing the male warily. After what she was put through, she wasn't going to take her chances with this guy, no matter how nice he seemed, for all she knew he could suddenly pounce on her like Itachi.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakura-san." He nodded, offering his hand for a friendly handshake, which Sakura complied to cautiously. There was something familiar between Hinata and Neji; they both had the same, milky coloured eyes. Sakura concluded that they were probably just related, or something along those lines.

"S-So Neji-san, would you mind taking S-Sakura-san out?" Hinata inquired, releasing the pinkette's arm as she nudged her to follow the brunette, who simply nodded in acknowledgment of her request. Sakura, feeling confused trailed behind the silent male after being handed her bag, completely oblivious to the fact that she was being set up by the timid woman.

'I hope things work out for them' Hinata quirked a knowing smile as she began busying herself around the shop.

"Ah, Neji-san, may I ask where we're going?" Sakura inquired, breaking the silence that had dawned on them the moment they left the store. She had a strange feeling that they were being set up together, she just hoped that he wasn't going to fall for her, like the others did. Although, she admits that Neji had a certain charm with his handsome features, and his cool personality, she already had enough on her hands.

Neji halted for a moment, and glanced downwards to the woman standing next to him. "I have to attend an important meeting, afterwards you can pick where you want to go." He stated simply, swiftly opening the passenger seat of his sliver Mercedes-Benz SL500. The pinkette tentatively stepped carefully into the expensive car, not wanting to offend the male, as he shut the door and made his way over to the driver seat.

"Neji-san, if its not too bothersome, you can just drop me off somewhere and I can find my way home." Sakura tried to negotiate with him; she peeked sideways to see his reaction, only to find his face remained impassive. She inwardly sighed in relief that reaction was better than him finding her 'amusing'.

"It's no trouble, I assure you Sakura-san." He turned a corner, his milky eyes quietly observing the pink haired woman with mild curiosity. Sakura in turn inwardly sighed, and leaned her chin on her fist.

"Really Neji-san, I insist, besides you probably have lots of work to get through. I wouldn't want to bother you." Sakura pleaded with the brunette, she last thing she wanted was to be seen with him, knowing her luck, she would possibly be seen by one of her many admirers. And if he were to suddenly feel attracted to her that would only add another problem to her list.

He sighed, "Sakura-san is there a peculiar reason why you don't want to be around me?" Sakura's eyes widened slightly, inwardly cursing herself, she had probably had accidently offended him. "I-It's not that Neji-san," She frantically waved her hands in front of her face, making her look like a complete lunatic, in an attempt to explain her situation.

The brunette seemed to be stifling a chuckle, but as quick as the look appeared, it vanished. Causing the pinkette to ponder whether or not she was seeing things, she coughed awkwardly into her fist. "Err; it's just that I was kinda forced to go out today, when I was hoping for a lazy day in." Sakura sighed dejectedly, "My boss gives me the long shifts, so I don't really have any time for myself."

"And, I can see you're a busy person, so I don't want you to have to trouble yourself just to take care of me." Sakura rushed out, casting a timid look sideways at Neji. Ino had always told her she had a tendency to be selfless, although most of the time, Sakura did it most of the time not knowing.

"Sakura-san, you're coming with me." Neji said firmly, it wasn't exactly a request; it was more of a command. His silencing glare was enough to shut her up, suppressing a sigh; she crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't want to start a fight with someone she hardly knew, and the last thing she needed was for Neji to be annoyed with her.

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence; Neji pondered on the pink haired woman sitting beside him, any other women would know instantly who he was just by looking at him, any normal women would be absolutely hysterical to be so close to him, yet she acted like she didn't want to be near him.

It was refreshing to say the least; he had expected to meet a Sakura Haruno, the information courtesy of Ino, he inwardly scowled at the model's name. The blonde was exceptionally bothersome at times, she was supposing hard to work with, having high standards being Ino.

Silently, he parked his car in his usual place and turned off the ignition. Swiftly opening his door, he unbuckled his seat beat and moved outside as he shit the door. Sakura hastily removed her seat beat, and was about to open her own door, only to find that it was already opening, thanks to Neji.

Once stepping out of the vehicle, she inclined her head in thanks, and smoothed the slight creases in her summer dress. Unaware, she was being watched by the brunette, who quickly averted his eyes as he approached the twenty story building, his usual impassive self in place. Sakura trailed behind him like a lost puppy, trying to keep close in case she were to get lost in the sea of people walking in and out of the building.

"Stay close Sakura-san," Neji noticed the pinkette shielding her face with the help from her thick, soft pink locks, he had a strange urge to touch it, to see if it was really as soft as it looked, but managed to restrain himself. Sakura inwardly sighed; she could already feel the multiple prickles of jealous consumed glares all shot in her direction, she felt somewhat used to the feeling, due to unfortunate circumstances involving her other admirers.

Again, silence dawned on the pair, but Sakura preferred the comfortable quietness. That way, they didn't have to talk about unnecessary subjects, such as Ino, and being the sociable person she is, he would have obviously heard of her. But apart from the occasional conversation his assistant, Sakura sceptically stared at the elevator, hoping that it wouldn't suddenly stop working like the other one did in the shopping mall. On the bright side, at least there would be three people instead of two, making in clearly impossible for Neji to show his 'affections' for her, if he had any, hopefully none whatsoever.

The trip to the top floor thankfully didn't have any problems; much to Sakura's concealed delight, as they all entered Neji's expensive, yet classy office. The pinkette looked in approval at the organised papers, unlike her desk, due to her working over hours, as she needed the extra money to pay the monthly rent. Although Ino had persistently insisted on paying for the both of them, after all the things Ino had bought for her, she wanted to at least be able to pay her own share of the rent.

"Sakura-san, I apologise that I have to leave you by yourself, but I will try to leave the meeting as soon as I can," Neji nodded remorseful at the pinkette, his gentleman manners kicking in again, oblivious to the fact that his assistant was glaring daggers at Sakura, who chose to not notice. "It's fine Neji, you don't need to rush the meeting. Take your time." Sakura insisted, lightly pushing the brunette by the shoulder.

"Okay Sakura-san, you can stay in here if you want, or you can explore the building if you wish," With that, he swiftly sauntered out of the room, closely followed by his assistant. Sakura sighed, and settled herself into one of the leather chairs, she pondered on her possible options, one was the she could just stay here until the meeting was over, but that could probably take an hour or so, but the upside of that would be she wouldn't bump into anyone, such as Itachi. At the mention of his name, she shuddered involuntarily. And the second option was that she could walk around on this floor, so she wouldn't get lost of the lower floors, it would save her from being bored out of her mind while she waited. But the only problem with that plan was that she could possibly run into one of her admirers, which was something she would rather avoid.

Sighing, she silently observed Neji's office, the size in comparison with her own office, was exceptionally bigger, not that she was all that surprised. Neji was after all a millionaire, being a business man. There wasn't a single paper out of place on his desk, everything seemed to be neatly organised, unlike her own office, but there was a difference between the two jobs, being a business man you earned thousands easily, and lived a life of luxury. Life as a doctor wasn't exactly easy, it had its perks, sure, but she had to do all the work herself, with no help from an assistant.

"Hey, you with the pink hair!" Sakura snapped out of her thoughts, and looked behind her to see a brunette with an odd hairstyle, that consisted of her hair being pulled into two tight, yet strangely neat buns on either side of her head. "Neji said something about you being here," She walked into the office, with a clipboard in hand.

"Oh, does he want me to leave?" Sakura inquired, her jade eyes staring hopefully at the woman. The brunette in question blinked in evident confusion, before a smile broke out on her formerly stern face. "You're funny! What's your name, pinky?"

Sakura twitched at the nickname, but controlled her temper as she took a deep, deliberate breath. "Sakura and you are?" She inquired, fully aware that she was being scrutinized by the brunette. "Tenten, nice to meet you Sakura-chan!" She grinned, pulling the startled girl to her feet. "C'mon, I'll show you around. I'm sure you wouldn't want to be stuck in this boring office," She dragged the pinkette along with her, who was too confused to pay attention.

"Would you like something to drink, Sakura-chan?" The said rosette turned to the brunette, who had stopped to look at the cold beverage machine, pondering on what she should get. Sakura's eyes skimmed through the list, before deciding on a _Pepsi_.

"So, you aren't a fan of Neji?" Tenten inquired, taking a sip of her drink. Sakura simply shrugged, "Not really, I have never really heard of him until today." She admitted, the brunette's eyes widened as she nearly choked on her lemonade.

"A-Are you being serious, Sakura-chan?" She coughed out, the pinkette nodded. "You have completely no interest in him whatsoever?" Sakura inwardly cringed; she already knew what was going to happen. Again, Sakura nodded tentatively and watched the brunette warily. Tenten didn't disappoint when she squealed happily, causing Sakura to nearly jump as the brunette hugged her enthusiastically.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, you're absolutely perfect for Neji!" Outwardly, Sakura was the picture of calmness. Inwardly, she was screaming bloody murder. The rosette smiled tightly, as she quickly removed Tenten from her person. "Tenten-san, I can assure you I am _far _from perfect." She tried to reason with the brunette, but Tenten was far too consumed in her matchmaking daydream to hear her.

"No, you're just being humble Sakura-chan!" She smiled, pleased with the prospect of finding the ideal woman for Neji.

"Ah Tenten-san, there you are!" A voice called out, startling the pinkette. Tenten simply rolled her eyes, and carried her beverage with her free hand. Then, a young woman appeared, a worried expression on her face. "You are needed in the conference room, now," She ushered for the brunette to follow; Tenten sighed as she shot Sakura an apologetic look, "Sorry Sakura-chan, I have to go but we can talk later!" She waved at the rosette eagerly, and once she was left through a hallway, Sakura couldn't suppress a long sigh of relief.

'Well, better get back to Neji's office' the pinkette thought, as she downed the remaining liquid of her drink, before throwing it in a nearby bin. She smoothed her dress, in case of any noticeable creases, and then proceeded to walk back to Neji's office. She felt a slight chill in the air, but dismissed it as she walked through the deserted halls, with the occasional business person walking back and forth between rooms.

Sakura sighed, for the umpteenth time as she stepped back into the room, to find it still empty; she walked around the room, and observed the office with slight interest until she reached the glass windows. Glancing downwards, she noticed a growing crowd of screaming...girls? There weren't that many when she walked through the entrance, Sakura's eyes narrowed suspiciously, the only people who could easily attract screaming girls could only be certain, persistent millionaires.

"Sakura, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Sakura's eyes widened, as she slowly turned her body around, her emerald eyes meet with piercing obsidian orbs. Inwardly gulping, a small afraid smile crept onto her face. "S-Sasuke, what are you doing _here_?" She stretched the 'here' as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I heard from Ino that you would be here," He answered simply, his eyes left hers for a moment, his eyes slightly grew bigger as he looked at her dress. She attempted to cover herself as a dark blush began to spread on the bridge of her nose. "What are you staring at," She muttered, averting her eyes elsewhere uncomfortably.

She nearly jumped when she felt hot breath hover over her neck; she stepped warily away from the male as she peeped sideways at the door, almost expecting another person to suddenly pop of nowhere, just like Sasuke did.

"You look utterly dazzlingly, Sakura," He graced the pinkette with a soft smile that made most girls weak at the knees, Sakura, however simply shrugged off the comment. "A friend of mine made it for me."

"Do you like dresses, Sakura?" He inquired curiously, fingering the soft material between his index finger and his thumb. Sakura sighed, "Not really, Ino arranged this dress to be made for me." Sasuke inwardly thanked Ino for doing anything useful for once, as he looked appreciably at his future bride. The dress hugged her curves as it flowed down freely down to her knees.

"Sasuke, don't you have business work or meetings you need to get to?" Sakura lightly shoved the Uchiha away, and moved away from the window, in case the screaming fans would see her and Sasuke. She didn't want be chased out of the building because of him.

"Work was tedious, especially the morning meetings." He sighed, running a hand through his gravity-defying hair. "Is there something wrong with wanting to see my special girl?" He smiled softly; patting her head affectingly, inwardly pleased when he noticed a light blush appeared on Sakura's face.

"Yes, there is. I don't want you troubling yourself to see me," She rolled her eyes at his irresponsible attitude to his work, just because he was a millionaire; he thought he could do as he wished. He chuckled in evident amusement, as he leaned in closer to smell her intoxicating strawberry scented locks.

"It's no trouble Sakura; I would do anything for you." Sakura allowed a small smile to spread on her face, as she averted her eyes shyly. Sasuke smirked knowingly, as he stroked her hair lovingly.

"Uchiha, what are you doing in my office?" The pinkette froze, gulping quietly as she came back to her senses and stepped back to distance herself from the young Uchiha. Neji raised a curious eyebrow as he walked into the office; Sakura watched the interaction warily, inwardly hoping that they wouldn't start an argument.

"Just seeing my Sakura got a problem with that?" Sasuke challenged the brunette, narrowing his eyes. Neji averted his clear white eyes momentarily to observe the uncomfortable rosette, who fidgeted slightly. "It seems she doesn't want you here, Uchiha." He retorted, and walked calmly over to where Sakura was standing. He stroked her hair comfortingly, causing her to subconsciously lean in, much to the dismay of Sasuke.

"Are you alright Sakura-san?" Neji inquired, only to be answered to a timid nod. He smiled, as he lifted her chin gently to see her shy emerald orbs shine with innocence. His eyes widened slightly, but he leaned forward to kiss her forehead. Sakura could feel her face burning up, the moment his lips touched her skin.

Sasuke was fuming; his anger was emitting from his body as he stalked over and gently snatched the pinkette away from the offending brunette, who he now recognised as his rival for Sakura's affections. "Hyuuga, Sakura is _mine_." He growled possessively, shielding the pinkette as he stepped in front of her.

The rosette in question rolled her eyes, it felt like déjà vu all over again.

"You don't own her Uchiha, she isn't a thing." Neji narrowed his eyes, struggling to understand the feelings Sakura was making him feel. He accepted the feelings tentatively, as he stared at his new rival.

Sakura, after realising that they seemed far too absorbed in her heated conversation, she could use this as an opportunity to make her escape back to her home, so she could sleep for the rest of the day. Taking slow backward steps, she held her breath as they continued to argue, and inwardly cheered when she made it out of the office without getting noticed.

"Hey Sakura-chan, you going outside?" Tenten popped out of nowhere, thankfully being out of earshot of the arguing pair. Sakura nodded, "Would to mind giving me a lift home?" She inquired hastily, as she kept sneaking glances behind her back.

Tenten, seeing nothing wrong with her bizarre behaviour agreed cheerfully, as she was helping Neji's future bride. Sakura shot her a grateful look as she was dragged the oblivious woman to the elevator, anticipation running through her veins.

She just barely suppressed her relief when the elevator doors hissed open; she pulled the talkative brunette in and hurriedly pressed the first floor bottom. She sighed, as she let herself rest for a moment, until she heard the sound of shoes running, along with the angry shouting in the hallway. Luckily, they doors shut before they could reach it. The last thing Sakura heard was:

"THIS IS YOUR DAMN FAULT HYUUGA!"

* * *

**Omake**

"Hey mister, can't you drive any faster?" Tenten inquired, her hazel eyes eying the driver, she had noticed that Sakura seemed on edge the moment they had left the building. Her curiosity grew the moment she heard the outburst from the usually impassive young Uchiha, the pinkette feigned an innocent look, and said she didn't know anything.

She wondered if Neji had was aware of Sakura's absence, as she had heard that he had come out of his meeting early, due to the unexpected appearance of Sasuke Uchiha. Tenten suspected something had happened between the seemingly oblivious pink haired woman and Sasuke, but didn't question Sakura.

"I'm sorry Miss, but it seems that we are going to be stuck in this traffic jam for awhile." The man sighed, and ran a hand through his greying locks. Sakura's eyes suddenly widened at the response, she had to get away from males who desired her attention. She much preferred her life before all these guys came in, although it was uneventful, it was unnecessary to feel paranoia, now she was reduced to always looking over her shoulder.

"Oh okay, well I'll just get out here, thanks for the ride." Sakura rushed out, and quickly handed the man the money as she nearly stumbled out of the vehicle in her haste. The brunette blinked her eyes in surprise for a moment, before she trailed after her new friend and potential candidate for Neji's future wife.

After quickly muttering her thanks, she slammed the door and followed the pinkette with ease. "Sakura-chan, what's the hurry?" She questioned, cocking an eyebrow as she straightened her coat.

"Uh, it's j-just that I have some work that I need to get through." She quickly thought up with an excuse, inwardly hoping that the perky brunette would believe her pathetic lie. She stopped momentarily from her walk, as nearby cars whizzed by, the pinkette quickly threw on her black cardigan in an attempt to warm her cold body.

Tenten watched her companion sceptically, and inwardly sighed. Shrugging nonchalantly, they passed the road when the green traffic light shifted to red. The brunette didn't want to pressure the pinkette into answering with her prying questions, and the last thing she wanted for the Sakura to push her away, she could see that she was a kind hearted person, and that was rare to find in the place she worked.

"Would you mind, if I tagged along?" She inquired innocently.

"Err, I suppose if you wanted to," Sakura replied absentmindedly, searching through her bag for her house keys. She muttered something incoherent under her breath, it was only now she realised that Ino had the spare keys, and the blonde was _conveniently_ out of the country due to an 'important' photo shoot.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" She blew at her bangs, as she watched her companion closely. The rosette feigned an innocent smile, but much to her dismay, Tenten saw right through it.

"I forgot my house keys, and my friend has the spare ones." She sighed, she wouldn't have forgotten it if Ino hadn't rushed her this morning to go to the spa. She fumbled with her bag for her phone, and called Ino, only to hear the blonde's chirpy voice via voicemail; inwardly cursing the blonde, she slipped her phone into her pocket.

"Her phone's off, so I can't contact her either." Sakura ran a hand through her untamed hair. Tenten shot her a sympathetic look, and patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"Sorry to hear that Sakura-chan," She began "if you want you can stay at my place; you're more than welcome to! I live on my own so I wouldn't mind having some company." She smiled brightly, hooking her arm with Sakura who hesitantly returned the smile. "Thanks Tenten-san, I really appreciate this. If you want, I can cook or—"

"No, you're my guest. You can just relax!" Tenten waved her free hand nonchalantly, cutting off the startled pinkette. Sakura still tried to persuade the brunette otherwise, not wanting to take advantage of her hospitality.

"Hush now Sakura-chan, you're staying at my place and that's final." Tenten grinned, as a mysterious glint flashed in her hazel eyes. Sakura inwardly sighed, she always happened to make friends with strange people these days.

In the past month, she had met Sasori, Sasuke –who she was starting to get along with until his possessive side kicks in—, Gaara, then Itachi and now Neji. Shikamaru was an exception of course; he wasn't trying to 'claim' her as his unlike the rest of them. And Neji was more of a gentleman, as he has not tried anything with her...as of yet.

"Eh! Sakura-chan, there's supposed to be a street festival today." Tenten exclaimed, breaking the pinkette out of her thoughts. But before Sakura could think of a response, she was already being dragged to the big billboard sign that was just outside of a traditional looking church. The brunette started to bubble with evident excitement, while Sakura pondered on the idea of going to the local festival, she didn't usually go to these events, due to the majority of her time spent on her demanding work.

Idly, Sakura pushed a strand of pink hair behind her ear as Tenten looked at the poster with mild interest. The church bells rang abruptly, the chimes echoing into the air. The entrance burst open, as a happy couple walked through with their friends and family crowding around, throwing the confetti enthusiastically at the newly wedded pair. The rosette allowed a small smile to grace her face, the content smiles from everyone was contagious.

From a young age, Sakura never really understood why people got married, considering her own bitter experience; it would either end in divorce or with either of the parent leaving. However, as she got older she slowly started to understand that not all marriages end in disaster. Most of the couples she had seen as a doctor seemed perfectly happy together, some of the marriages had lasted for about ten years or even longer.

"Sakura-chan, look the bride's tossing the flowers." The brunette squealed, the said woman's jade eyes snapped over to where the bride was standing. There were lots of fancy women –no doubt in extravagant— dresses crowding around, eager to catch the bouquet of lilies. The pinkette rolled her eyes, if even they caught the flowers, there was no official guarantee that they were going to get married straight away.

"Get out of the way!"

"It's mine, get lost!"

Similar sentences were used as the woman started to squabble over who was going to catch the flowers, the bride turned around and tossed the bouquet over her shoulder, the women behind her attempted to seize the item, but it managed to fly past their hands towards the blissfully unaware pinkette. The flowers fell into her hands, as she passed by the iron gates of the church.

Silence surrounded the crowd for a moment, Sakura's eyes widened as she realised what she had in her hands. Instantly she threw it to one of the dumbfounded women and hastily walked away, with a slightly stunned brunette trailing after her, with a growing grin curling on her lips. It was obviously a sign that Sakura was going to get married soon and possibly to Neji. She followed the pinkette silently, ideas sprouting in her devious mind.

She nearly jumped when she heard her phone ringing in her pocket, quickly fishing out her phone; she inspected her screen momentarily, before she pressed the answer button without any hesitation.

"Hello," Tenten excused herself from the pinkette, and quickly walked out of the pinkette's earshot as she listened to the caller.

"Tenten, where did you take Sakura-san?" The brunette could sense Neji was genially concerned for Sakura's wellbeing, and allowed a small smile to spread on her face in approval. She glanced briefly over her shoulder to check on Sakura, before responding.

"We're on our way to the festival," She happily informed her childhood friend, who gave his thanks and hung up. The insistent beeping of the cars disappearing, along with his voice, she walked back to the pinkette who was blissfully unaware of her conversation.

"Let's go Sakura-chan! I'll buy you some dango." She chirped, as she dragged the slightly reluctant woman, who was completely oblivious to what her companion had done. Sakura sighed quietly to herself, as she rubbed her temple in a futile attempt to make the growing pains in her forehead disappear.

* * *

It took Sakura at least fifteen minutes to lose Tenten in the swarm of people; the brunette was too absorbed in the delicious smells surrounding the different stalls to notice her disappearance. She sighed; her headache was lingering, and was getting more painful by the second. She didn't want to leave Tenten, but she also didn't want to spoil her fun either.

"Excuse me," Sakura mumbled, trying to squeeze through the crowds. First attempt wasn't so successful, but after a forceful push Sakura managed to cross to the other side. This, of course earned her a few rude retorts thrown in her direction, but she didn't care. All she cared about was going to the nearest drug store, to cure her headache.

She barely noticed the appearance of the millionaire-worthy car, as it stopped smoothly beside her. It was only when she heard a distinctive voice; she stopped in her tracks, like a deer in the headlights. She turned slowly, inwardly gulping as she faced the brunette she had left only a few hours ago.

"Sakura-san," Sakura dreaded what his next words would be, she felt the temptation to avert her eyes away from his own stern ones, an embarrassed look plastered on her face. She expected him to lecture her, to scold her for leaving so abruptly when she was supposed to be in his care.

What she didn't expect, was to be pulled into an almost intimate embrace, her senses were engulfed by the scent of his cologne and male musk. Her eyes widened slightly, startled by the sudden act of affection. From what she had heard, Hyūga Neji rarely showed emotion in public, as he did have to upkeep his well known reputation for being a professional business man.

She cleared her throat awkwardly, after a few minutes had passed. He obliged, like the gentleman he was, as he stepped back. Sakura shuffled her feet, feeling uncomfortable in the shared silence. Her gaze dropped to her feet, unable to look at the man in front of her without the threat of a blush creeping up her neck.

"I'm sorry that you had to miss your meetings, Neji-san." She spoke softly, guilt evident on her face.

Unbeknown to Sakura, a small smile graced the face of the brunette. He felt relief that she was unharmed; it was thanks to the arrogant prick of the Uchiha that had successfully scared her off. He did not know what had possessed him to suddenly hug her, but he simply dismissed it as feeling guilty for arguing with the Uchiha, which had caused Sakura to leave, though the majority of the blame has to go to Sasuke.

"Don't worry about it Sakura-san,"

"Umm, Neji-san, I know it's rude of me to ask," Sakura glanced at him for a moment; he nodded his acceptance in response. "Could you drop me off in the nearest drug store, I have a bit of a headache." Neji again inclined his head before opening her car door before making his way over to his own.

Again, the drive was spent mostly in silence; however Sakura felt somewhat comfortable with the quietness, all she wanted to concentrate on was getting rid of the persistent headache that was quickly turning into an annoyance. It was only when Neji stopped the car, Sakura opened her eyes. She felt slightly groggy from the short yet needed nap; she had only had three hours of sleep the previous night due to the demanding work she had at work, plus Ino's pleadings with her to go to the spa. It was evident that the multiple coffees she had earlier that morning were starting to wear off.

"Stay here, I'll go." What all she heard before she realised what was going on, she watched Neji walk calmly into the store and sighed. She didn't want to bother him by doing this for her, she expected that he was supposed to be a meeting right now and all she was doing was being an unwanted nuisance.

In less than five minutes, he appeared out of the shop with a small bag in hand. He entered the car, handed the bag over to Sakura wordlessly before starting up the engine. She mumbled her quiet, yet audible thanks, she took one tablet and swallowed it with a generous gulp of water before she closed her eyes, and succumbed to her need for sleep.

* * *

When Sakura did wake up, she found herself in an unfamiliar bedroom, at first she assumed she was just dreaming and this was just her imagination, she seemed out of place in the simple, yet extravagant room.

"Ah, Sakura-chan! You're finally awake I see." Tenten entered the room, accompanied by a small tray containing a plate of dango. Sakura noticeably stiffed, seeing a Cheshire cat grin on her face.

"Tenten-san? Not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here?" Sakura fidgeted uncomfortably with the blanket, the brunette settled herself on one corner of the bed and pushed the tray closer to Sakura.

"Neji called me," She answered, crossing her arms over her chest. "You know, you should have told me you were feeling ill. I was really worried when you had disappeared!" She chastised, an unimpressed look flashed on her face.

The feeling of guilt filled her again, she casted her eyes downward to the untouched plate. "I'm sorry Tenten-san; I didn't mean to worry you. I just needed a bit of space, that's all." There was a moment of silence, until Sakura dared to look up, to see Tenten smiling at her.

"That's alright Sakura-chan! Neji told me about what had happened before; I can understand why you wanted to stay away from that chauvinist Uchiha!" She chirped, patting Sakura on the shoulder. The pinkette smiled at the brunette in response.

"Tenten how is Sakura-san's condition now?" Tenten rolled her eyes, and Sakura just about suppressed a giggle. The woman grumbled about having enough time with her new friend, before checking the pinkette's forehead.

"Well, her forehead feels cooler now, Neji." She turned to look at the calm brunette, who simply nodded.

Tenten grinned suddenly, as she quickly glanced back to Sakura and leaned forward and stage whispered "He's been terribly worried about you Sakura-chan; he hasn't been able to work properly. He's been in this room to check up on you more than I have!"

"That's enough, Tenten." The brunette pouted at Neji, as she backed out of the room. "Yeah, yeah Neji, I can understand that you want to spend some quality time with Sakura-chan, so I will take my leave now." She winked at the pair, and scurried out of the room before Neji could retort.

Sakura stared blankly at the door, while Neji shook his head at his friend's behaviour. He looked back at the pinkette, whose bed hair was sticking up in different directions, but still managed to look oddly attractive. He hadn't realised that he had been staring, until the woman in question then turned to glance at him.

He coughed into his fist; he turned slightly, to hide the faint non existent blush crossing the bridge of his nose. "Sakura-san, I am glad to see you are feeling better. If you need anything, I'll be in the next room."

"Thank you for taking care of me, Neji-san. I'm sorry if I had been a burden to you." Sakura smiled gratefully at him, which only caused his blush to turn a deeper shade. This time, he turned around swiftly; he wondered if he had mysteriously gotten a fever. Neji then promptly stalked out of the room, intent on finding out what exactly was wrong with him.

Sakura, on the other hand was completely oblivious to the fact that she had accidentally charmed another man.

* * *

**A/N:** Hello again guys, I think this is a better ending for this chapter. I'm sorry that this isn't actually an update, but I thought that there wasn't much interaction between Neji and Sakura, so I added this in to ease my conscience about not updating. I've been getting a few messages urging me to update, so I've been feeling a-bit guilty lately.

For the time being, I've started revising; it's hard when I've got so many things around me that are really distracting -_-

Anyway, I hope you guys liked the short-ish extra part. Also, about the poll -I'll be taking it down next week, so if you haven't voted. Go now!

'Till next time!

Saku-Chan


	8. The author note: Updated! Please read!

**17/01/12 UPDATE**

For those who aren't aware, I've recently posted the Shikamaru chapter/date on the new rewritten version of 20PD: new version :)

Also—there's a poll on my profile concerning the next person who you want Sakura to meet in the next chapter/date.

Saku-chan

**AUTHORS NOTE: _PLEASE READ!_**

Right, now before you guys get really mad at me for posting an author's note and not an actual chapter, I have some good and bad news to tell you all.

I'll start with the bad news, to put it simply, I'm _not _going to continue this fiction for many reasons that seem never ending for me. But I know that you readers would like at least an explanation for why I've ultimately come to this decision.

Recently, I was reading some of the first chapters, and I have to say that they are just _horrific_ and full of obvious clichés. I'm just wondering if you, as readers had ever felt that while reading the chapters, but I've never actually gotten a flame or anything that had described just how horrible this is. Now, for some readers, you're probably rejoicing that I've finally realized the errors of this particular fiction, otherwise for the rest of you, you must be wondering what's going to happen next?

Okay, the good news…is that after a lot of thinking, I've decided that I'm going to re-write the fiction from scratch (with the exception of a few parts in the previous version that just seem to fit with the new version.) I'm not entirely sure when the first chapter will come out, but honestly I think I'll keep the old version, simply because I think it's okay and that's just how I think Ino would get the idea to set the ever oblivious Sakura on numerous dates with a bunch of guys.

However, I think that most of you would be happy to hear that I've actually (nearly) finished the Sasori chapter and I am currently working on the Shikamaru chapter.

Finally, I would like to personally thank each and every one of you readers who has either put this fiction in their favourite's/story alerted it/reviewed or just even took the time to read the chapters. I feel really grateful that you've all supported me this far, and I'm just going to stop here before I get all sloppy and stuff.

So, I hope that you guys will like the new version of 20 Perfect Dates (And just putting this idea out there, should I change the fiction's title or keep it the way it is for sentimental reasons?)

Thanks again!

Saku-Chan


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